TWO!

As in, we've kept you waiting "two" long... Hoo boy. Sorry for that. The bad joke. And the delay.

So...

There are two two year olds living here, and it seems like there are twenty of them. This isn't such a horrible inflation when you consider that with the frustrating outbursts come newfound affection. While we'd much rather not be scraping applesauce off the ceiling fan, Carli and Joseph's unanbashed remorse of causing such a fracas equals immediate redemption.

It's hard so say who does it better: Carli, miss verbal, will give big eyes, lean into frustrated parent and say, "Mommy's/Daddy's here. Mommy/Daddy so pretty/handsome..." Or actions-speak-louder-than-words Joseph, who will also widen eyes, but will jut lower lip out and lean into that nook in your shoulder so perfectly you wonder if you've had this appendage all your life. And look up at you every 20 seconds or so just in case you forgot how cute he is.

Then there's those moments when you think you know the little person next to you, and then you get a glance at how dimensional they really are. Joseph has established such a routine at school that all you need to do is look at the clock, and he will be in the same area at the same time each day. One recent morning, mom checked the book corner and he was absent- suddenly, he runs up to mom, book in hand. Without even thinking, mom asks, "what is that?", to which Joseph looked up without blinking and said "nanana" while pointing to a banana. Then he sat and read, and pointed to each object that mom and teacher asked him to. And with each "yay" directed at him, he met it with a "um, what do you think I am? 18 months?!" look.

Or when Carli, who is always up for trying a new food, screamed at Daddy for the unforgiveable offense of putting ketchup on her omelette.

And not ones to keep the comedy at bay, Carli and Joseph have been making the most of their bathroom visits- at least the ones that involve mom and dad. Bringing a whole new meaning to "waste management" (Tony Soprano free, of course), mom's latest humbling moment was breaking up a fight and soothing the "first un-winner"* while, um, otherwise occupied.

(just in case any of you thought that we were trying to make this job seem effortless and glamourous)

Proud to say that celebrating two years was a huge success, with lots of family and close friends to help us eat the 400 slices of pizza we picked up. Not a tantrum was heard and grins were a-plenty. Ah, maturity!

Maybe it's the maturity that can only come from existing for more than 730 days, but it seems as though Carli and Joseph really know that they're growing up. Carli found an old box of baby toys and quickly dismissed it as being "for baby", and Joseph really wants to do the puzzle by himself, thank you. Talk to his hand.

For those of you partaking in Passover this year, a meaningful and happy holiday to you. For all of our devoted bloggees, we are, as always, grateful for your readership.

Bye for now!

*Bringing a whole new level of positivity to those who aren't the winners. Help us before we start using terms like, "Timing deficient personal waste incident" and "Excessive Elmo Exposure syndrome"

Keeping Our Cool...

Before we begin our usual rants we have a few things to address.

We are encouraging all of our readers to look to the right and link up.

First- Uncle Jordan has been host to many a hair quandry, and now he's taking his folicular talents to a very selfless level. Support his "balding for Dollars" which not only ensures that we'll get to see his scalp come April, but that kids who are dealing with the brave quest of battling cancer can get as much help as we can give them. Carli and Joseph have already donated to the cause and hope to coax you to do the same.

If you prefer some immediate gratification with your charity, then all you Montrealers have to get to m:brgr asap! What happens when you combine outstanding food, a great atmosphere, with 5% of all profits going to Montreal Childrens Charities? A very satisfied tummy and soul. What are you waiting for? Check out their link. To the right...up a little... go on...we'll still be here when you are done browsing...

Welcome back!

Wow, almost two. Hard to believe that 23 months have passed with our spritely pair, but due to their pitch-perfect stage-hitting talents, there is no mistaking that two is a very busy and unpredictable number. High on the priority list is keeping cool- for mom and dad at least. Perhaps the most challenging is staying calm NOT while the tantrums are erupting, but while self-expression is taking place.

At this point we've learned to tune out the tantrums; but what we're still learning is how not to laugh when Joseph and his budding vocabulary use clenched fists, a very loud DDAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!! and stomping feet to say something like: "Get those stupid waffles off my plate!"

Or not completely melting when Carli begs to bring her stuffed animals into the bathtub; with pouts and puppy dog eyes pleas to throw them into the bubbly water.

Or not cracking up when Joseph resembled a slingshot running into mom and dad's room and hitting the bed with such force he bounced back at least two feet. (His recovery was immediate; we are grateful there were so many pillows around so we could hide our faces with them...)

Or not screaming back when Carli plays backseat DJ in the car and screams for the 25th repetition of her favorite song...

Well, the upside is that mom and dad can now probably "method actor" to our already diverse parenting resume.

And then there's the obvious upside of getting to spend lots of time with them. Which involves a lot more laughter than keeping it cool. Aside from enjoying their verbal talents, there's the personality vault that opens a little more each day. When Joseph gives a wink and a nod, you know he's just run off with a cookie that belonged to Carli. Or when Carli starts kicking up her right leg, she's trying to copy the famous "Daddy Dance".

Well, we're going to take a few deep breaths and gear up for Birthday #2. We hope to see you next month!

Ringing in the new year!

Happy 2008!

We hope you are all doing well. We've been a busy bunch since our last posting.

We would have posted sooner, but the petri dish that is toddlerhood prevented our general productivity. For the record, when we say that we like to be good hosts, we mean good hosts to people, not germs and other things icky. Alas, we saw few people and lots germs and ick. We are hopefully seeing the end of this round and hope that this is the beginning of a healthy month! (But if our calculations are correct, the next round of sickness should be in a couple of weeks when we all feel great!!!)

Having said that, we also waited for the cabin fever to dissipate before sending salutations, or our tone might have sounded far less pleasant...! For a few weeks, it seemed like we were back in the land of newborn. Lots of late-night fever interventions, lots of random tantrums, and lots of mom and dad pining for random trips to Starbucks by ourselves... somewhere in Mississippi...

But, onto more informative and enjoyable topics:

We are proud to have logged airborne miles on our first family trip to Florida and even prouder that the only reason Carli and Joseph got noticed on either flight was due to their charming presence. Bravo to our traveling brood and we look forward to racking up frequent flyer miles as a family! (we do not, however, look forward to the subsequent traveling bills.) A lot of folks have inquired about the kids favorite part of the trip, and while the time with grandparents and great-grandparents was the most rewarding and memorable , hands down it was... puddles. The Florida weather was typical and treated us to a lot of sunshine with the occasional shower. Said showers yielded large and lovely puddles outside of Bubbie's condo... and a convenient playground! Good thing Carli and Joseph packed their crocs.

(administrative note: please email Jen if you'd like to see our Florida slidedshow. At 160 pictures, we did not want to send it out unsolicited, but we would love to share it if you're interested.)

While this was not our first Chanukah as a foursome this was the first Chanukah that impacted all of us. From watching Joseph giggle while the dreidel spun to Carli happily distinguish the chanukah candles from the Shabbat ones, it was a real family holiday. And somehow they caught onto the "present" concept very quickly.

Ever the musical duo, Carli and Joseph are perfecting their latest duet, "Old Macdonald". You may recall from previous posts that this is no new tune for them, but brand new is their adorable collaboration:
Carli: "Ol don hava farm"
Joseph" Eyayayayayayaya".

As soon as we can tape it, we'll post it for you. But you know how little people are... as soon as the recording device shows up, they manage to locate their elusive mute buttons.

As we are rounding the corner to Birthday #2 (gulp!), we are enjoying the thrill of communicating with Carli and Joseph as they hit new strides each day. We hope to see you soon and you can revel in the experience yourself!

Have a great month and keep those germs away! (Especially away from us!!!!!)

Perspectives 2.0

If you hold a wet wipe in front of Carli, she will yell "all clean!" and try to wipe herself... and will wipe her hair and miss her face.







If you hold a wet wipe in front of Joseph, he will stare at it until you do something with it.



Upon entering her classroom, Carli will seek out the art project.



Upon entering the same classroom, Joseph will seek out his favorite toy and make sure no one else gets hold of it. Following acquisition, heaven help you if you cross his path.



When at home, when faced with a room filled with activities, Carli will name the objects she sees and will usually settle on a book.


In the same situation, Joseph will ensure that all doors and drawers are closed and properly aligned. He will then look for the toy that sings "Old MacDonald" and E-I-E-I-O along with it.


When holding a marker, Carli will give it a taste test (and mom will be grateful for non-toxic ink).



When holding a marker, Joseph will shake it and eventually get rid of it as it makes no music.


Both however, will produce lovely artwork. Eventually.


When faced with a rainy afternoon, offspring will think, "Here we go!! Pillow Forts! Races up the stairs!"


When faced with the same afternoon, parental units will think, "Is it bedtime yet?"




When faced with dinnertime, mom will hope that tonight's the night for take out. Conversely, dad will lament, "how much will this cost me?"

If however, dinner will originate at home, dad will think, "Ah, the fruits of breadwinning... there's nothing like a home cooked meal." And mom will think, "How long will it take me to clean up this mess?"

When faced with the exurberance that can only come from people under the age of 3, mom and dad humbly acknowledge that despite little sleep, the days fly by faster than the rising price of gasoline. And like most of our precious resources, we should enjoy what we have while we still have it.

We hope you have a happy and healthy turkey feast!!!

Back To School

For all of us.

Okay, clarification. New to School for Carli and Joseph, back to school for mom and dad. Just when we thought that we knew a thing or two about a thing or two, enter two talented and strong willed toddlers. After many months of basking in relative independence, Carli decided that nothing can be done without mom. Even mom's trips to the loo. And Mr. predictable Joseph sent us back to the culinary drawing board when all of his usual favorite foods became objects of contempt.

Thus we begin the latest chapter in our work in progress, "Ha! The terrible twos arrive earlier than two! That's why they're so terrible!" (Not the kids, the concept.)

But school you ask? Sort of. To avoid a general sense of toddler ennui, Gymboree is being supplemented with classes at their future school. Mom's still part of the student body, as are all the other moms with their little people in the class.

From Carli and Joseph's perspective, it's a cool new room with toys, new eyes to poke, a new teacher to smile at and cool new foods for lunch. (Eating said food is entirely optional) It's also a chance to see older cousins in their classrooms and look forward to the day when they can check mom at the door.

From Mom and Dad's perspective, it's school all over again (how do I look? Who are the cool kids? Math... yikes!) and a huge reminder that even though days tend to drag on at times, the popsicle we call time is melting, and fast!

We are also proud of how well our darling duo travels. So much, in fact, that we plan to up the travel ante in the next few months and really see what they're made of. So far they make driving at night more than just setting the cruise control; they quietly sing along to the music and play footsie games with skills far beyond their months. But seriously, we are looking forward to our first plane ride as a foursome and fun weekends in Brooklyn to round out the fun times we enjoy north of the border. More updates on those as they approach.

On another note, we are continually grateful for your readership. And it means a lot that what we have to say means something to you. If you glance to the right (scroll up just a bit), you'll notice a couple of links that we hit on a regular basis. If you'd like your place in space to be part of that list, please let us know! (All subjects welcome, but we are a family site, so please keep it clean) We would be happy to connect what's important to you with people that may not already know about it.

Mwah!

A Loss for Words

You would think that with all the chatter going on here there would be more to convey. There is, but you'll have to pardon the tired bloggers.







In this house, we expend our energy in a few different ways. One seems like a sprint. Another is a jog uphill. Or, there is the uphill sprint. The past few weeks have been a continuous uphill sprint. With ankle weights.


Much of the cerebral discoveries this month have been for mom and dad. And in the nature vs. nurture debate, nature is kicking some serious bee-hind:

• Carli's divvy is quite a source of comfort for her. Why she calls her blanket a divvy is not really the focus; but that she calls it a divvy when mom called hers a dubby many moons ago is thought provoking.

• Just how Joseph manages to grab the prosterior of the cutest mom at the playground (present company excluded, ahem) without looking up from the ground is probably part of a secret pact made with him and dad and all other species who appreciate the female form.

• How Carli seems to know the difference between a bangle and a bracelet...

We have also learned to measure time in a consequential manner, as opposed to standard chronology. If you plan to eat a cookie without sharing, you have exactly 3 seconds to do so without be sniffed out. If you communicate with proper manners and gestures, you have can go all day without being imitated. If you have a profane moment, exactly 3.2 nanoseconds will pass before Carli or Joseph are replicating.

As for words, they are flooding our home faster than protesters were lining galleys of The United Nations and Columbia University this past week. We are so proud of "caw-ee" and "jofa" as they try and turn morphemes into communicable transmissions. Please stop by and join us for "mik-koh" (cold milk) and "SSSSSAA!" (pizza) anytime. Save room for "coooo-ky[s]" (cookies). Don't touch the "hosss" stove or you'll get a boo boo. But if you do, we'll give you a bemmeh (band aid).

And may the Autumnal Equinox shower you with foliage and the smell of crisp apples.

D'oh!

Sorry, it had to be done. No way can an opportunity to simpsonize our two favorite characters pass us by.

And these days life is like a huge comedy series anyway. Maybe there's too much reality TV out there, maybe it's parental paranoia, but it seems like there are surveillance cameras watching our house of comedy. In case you missed the secret screening (reward offering to snitches) , a brief overview:

-An entire roll of paper towels will float when thrown into a filled bathtub. It will also gain about 20 pounds performing all of its absorbing duties.

-A tablespoon of cream cheese can magically morph into a gallon when you spread it onto a bagel and offer it to a 17 month old. Said gallon can also cover a child in about 3.4 seconds.

-10 hours of sleep can feel like only 20 minutes. Transversely, a child who only sleeps for 20 minutes can be so refreshed and energetic that she appears to have slept 10 hours.

-Just like computers are telepathically programmed to slow down and/or crash when you need them to be the most efficient, little people are designed to be telepathic when you least expect it. "Mommy, meemee Jofa" uttered Carli when we passed the pharmacy, reminding mom to procure meemee (medicine) for Jofa (Joseph).

-Strawberry flavored applesauce apparently tastes far better when it's being licked off a wall. A pristine, beige wall.

- When faced with two identical cupboards, little people always know which one holds fragile contents before even attempting to open the child friendly one. And somehow a favorite toy stuffed inside child-friendly cupboard becomes inconsequential. Just what their plans are for the 8x10 crystal photo frame, are apparently privy to only Carli and Joseph.

-Broccoli only tastes good in other peoples' homes.

-And finally, clouds are also telepathic, as they know just when a fresh layer of sunscreen has been applied, and roll in on cue. Either that or they enjoy watching moms and dads slap their foreheads.

And from the Joseph Jabber and Carli Chatter corner:

"Obeedee": Octopus- Carli

"Ellelelelel": Elephant- Carli

"Aye!": Yes- Joseph

"Mum mum mum": anything but mom- Joseph

For those of you ringing in 5768, A sweet, healthy and prosperous new year. And to everyone who appreciates partaking in the venting of voices inside our heads, we are grateful you're back for more!

Pardon The Interruption...

As fate (or karma, or whatever cosmic force butters your toast) stepped in with a jab or two.

The past month left us with little time to feel bored- with visitors, activities, and Dad's accelerated travel schedule we were all agreeing that whoever coined the phrase "lazy days of summer" did not live in a universe that included jobs, children, friends and family, apparently.

As Carli and Joseph made the brave transition from "spectators of bodies of water" to enthusiastic little swimmers, we find ourselves proud and downright pooped. Yes, the bike rides to and fro didn't exactly make the process leisurely, but seeing two little faces peering out from bike helmets provided plenty of entertainment while we fought with our bicycle gears. And the giggles as the kids splash around in the water makes the fatigue seem moot.

And true to the doctrine of one mom, "the fatigue never really goes away, it just bounces between mental and physical" we learned that leaving the room without warning anyone under the age of 2 can result in two-hour meltdowns. Which eventually results in lots of wine consumption after bedtime.

Both fun and new for mom and dad is Carli and Joseph's budding vernacular. Please be sure to have plenty of "NUMMY NUMMY!" to share with Carli (food), and please keep the ESA-UH (Baby Einstein) on regular rotation for Joseph.

Look our new feature, Carli Chatter and Joseph Jibber each month as they eagerly make a collage out of the english language.

Which brings us to our report of the interruption. Our brave little Carli's right eyebrow had a full frontal altercation with a corner on a drawer... and four hours in the emergency room, vomiting all over the waiting room, and three stitches later she emerged tired and sewn up. The president of Irony Inc. is applauding the fact that this said drawer is locked up for the other 23 hours and 59 minutes of each day.

Joseph was a total trouper as he hung out with his aunties and cousins- and waited patiently for the storm to pass. We think dad was hit the hardest, as he had to hear this news while he was in transit from Fresno to Phoenix. We are pleased to report that everyone is recovering quite well.

Joseph, also known as DJ Stillwater, is preparing for his upcoming club dates. A recent activity in music class that involved a disco ball and lights left him panting after laughing so hard... and between his drumming and DJing (he is now "mixing" the musical table jingles with the singing book tunes, pretty darn well we must say) we just hope that mom and dad are even considerably cool enough to enter whatever club he marquees. Then again, we can't imagine that owner and overall boss Carli would block our entry. Ah, the joys of disillusionment.

We hope that you are enjoying your summer days as well! See you next month :)

Summer Fun!

Welcome to Summer!

Welcome to the whirlwind that is our home these days. With equal parts delight and exhaustion, we are thrilled to announce that all Aboudis residing at our home are prone and using only their feet to move. The walking has begun!!!!!

So have the summer activities, which are all in the start-up phase. Our first swimming pool experiene was a total success, if you omit the use of the actual pool. Carli was a huge fan of running in the grass around it, and Joseph took quite well to the fountains. As for the water, we apologize. The piercing screams have stopped and you can all remove your earplugs.

We also enjoyed our first family outing to the local safari park. Mom and Dad drove around the park in awe of the wildlife display. Almost tried to adopt the giraffe who grazed the van. Carli and Joseph were thrilled at the experience of their first... taste of chips. Apparently, when one is privy to baby einstein viewings of wildlife, and when ducks, geese, birds, dogs and cats practically reside in your own backyard it's almost a given that you will see a Zebra saunter by your window before you turn two. And thus their enjoyment was evident, but we think they were all smiles because Mom and Dad kept Jack Johnson in rotation on the van's CD player.

We also think we've tapped into a great way to improve technology. We've noticed that computer innards are constantly trying to improve process speed and multi-tasking ability. May we kindly suggest that you add a "parent" chip to all hardware, this will ultimately guarantee not only a multi-tasking machine, but a multi lingual, multi activity strong yet sensitive thing. If they could allocate Dad's ability to soothe a tempermental Carli while shaving, and mom's ability to cook a three course meal while bathing Carli and Joseph, we think that machines would surpass most human capacity. Then again, we don't need any more machines to rely on. As Carli and Joseph often remind us, a hug is usually the most effective approach to problem solving. And we don't want a machine doing that for us.

We hope you'll stay tuned as we embark on more summer firsts:

Going to the Beach- Just how nutritious is all that sand the kids are eating?

Riding bikes with mom and dad on our new seats- should we believe the parental units when they claim that they're going slow for our safety? Or should they just admit to how out-of-shape they really are?

For these and more Aboudi nonsense, we hope you'll be back soon.

Perspectives

If you give Joseph a spoon, he will study it for ten seconds, throw it on the floor and proceed to do so for as long as the excedrin supply lasts.

If you give Carli a spoon, she probably won't think much of it until she sees said spoon in Joseph's hand.

If you give Danny a spoon, he will use it to raid the fridge and attack anything on Jen's plate. And leave it somewhere in the den.

If you give Jen a spoon, she will clean it, organize it with like spoons, ensure that all are facing south, then organize entire drawer so that all its contents are symmetrical. Following that, she will use it to reward herself with a Haagen Dazs product. She will then repeat the process.

If the sun is shining, then Carli and Joseph think, "Woo Hoo! To the swingset, mother vessel!"
Danny thinks, "Getting my money's worth on the swingset"; and Jen thinks "Ugh! Now I have to apply all that sunscreen..."

When our friendly neighborhood geese and their newly hatched goslings trot around the lawn, Carli thinks, "wow..."
Joseph thinks, "Um, can we please go back to the swings?"
Jen thinks, "The stunning cycle of life, represented by multiple mammals, isn't the planet, (sniff) just beautiful?"
Danny thinks, "D'oh! More goose poop all over the lawn!

When Carli starts cruising from the couch to the table, she thinks, "If I could only reach the phone, I could call Nana and get her to feed me cookies every five minutes".

When Joseph cruises from the table to the couch, he thinks, "If I could reach the remote control I could keep Baby Einstein on constant feed. And I could have a couple of those aforementioned cookies that Carli is procuring."

Danny thinks, "I'm watching too much Family Guy. I think we're raising Stewies."

Jen thinks, "Is it naptime yet?!"

And you're thinking, "Does a mother's omnipitence really allow her access to her whole families' thoughts?" Moms, you know it does. Hope you had a superb Mother's day.

Love, the Aboudi Circus

1.1

To our math teachers who promised that math would indeed apply to real life: We sheepishly bow our heads in agreement. And with an apology or two, as it seems as though we are awfully digit-focused in our blogosphere.

In reviewing recent postings, it is painfully clear that either I need a week-long writers workshop or a crash course in new perspectives. I think what's been happening to our brains is a strange justification. While trying to describe the galactic sense of wonder I am compensating with lots of numbers to quantify an otherwise qualitative experience.

Because as hard as we try to specify the millions of nuances that Carli and Joseph are comprised of, we end up saying pretty much what everyone else says: "They're amazing!"

While they are in fact amazing, they are so much more, rendering the thesaurus a mediocre tool for such extraordinary subjects.

But enough about mom and dad. Let's get back to the math. The "I turned 1" switch flipped and the developmental graphs are displaying staggering results.

Carli, mobile for at least the last four months now, has her progress moving at a steady rate. To date she is pulling herself up, cruising, free standing for a few seconds at a time. We no longer change her diapers or clothing, we wrestle with her until one of us is covered in desitin paste and/or pulling on clothes at random praying that eventually limbs will end up in their designated spot.

While Joseph is doing exactly the same; his graph went from plateau to spike- and what took Carli three months to master he has decided to compact into a four week span.

All this to say that the "gym at home" is providing harder workouts. If only we could translate all these burned calories into chiseled abs!

And around again to the abstract: Books and more books ("boo"). We are now entering the learn by repetition (and practically lose your marbles reading a particular tome for the 40th time) phase. We are enjoying some preliminary results; Carli is quick to recognize an "ana" (banana); and Joseph is quick to identify that the bees will buzz when he turns to a certain page. That or he really enjoys how ridiculous mom and dad look when we "buzz" and "moo". But we are happy to suffer for our art.

Finally, self expression above all: Carli's rapid fire exclamations fly out with the rhythm of a jackhammer; "Hemma, hemma, bub, bub". That explanation hardly does justice to the absolute deliciousness of it, but that's the general idea. Joseph's gurgles, screams and grunts have more tones than our Elmo guitar. If only we could translate those into adjectives, we might stand a chance of conveying our enthusiasm accurately.

Happy April. One question, what the heck does April snow bring?

One

Let's debunk a few myths, shall we?

One is not the lonliest number. In our house, one is the equivalent of 12 months, 365 days with Carli and Joseph. One is the equivalent of approximately 300 gallons of formula, 60 gallons of milk, and somewhere in the vicinity of 50 000 diapers (holy eco-terrorism, Batman).

One equals 400 advils for mom, 4000 liters of coffee for dad, and 8000 viewings of various baby einstein episodes. 700 hours of trying to get songs out of our heads, 100 trips to babies r us, and 500 utterances that sound something like, "Sorry we haven't called /emailed you back..."

One also equates to the infinite amount of amazement that deepens daily.

And one equals 4 Aboudis at 425 Brookside.

Therefore, one does not signify anything in solitude, but multitudinal numbers that equal the whole. Yay for one!

Next myth to go on the slaughtering block:

Not all forms of weight loss are appreciated. We have been (apparently) wonderful hosts to the stomach flu... which we are still trying to control. Thankfully, while we're doing better than we were last week at this time, we are still running into C&J's bedroom every hour after bedtime just to make sure that no surprises await. In the spirit of sharing, mom and dad got a dose as well. We sure weren't expecting this to be our new dietary regime. Nor were we planning to ring in their first year with rice milk and the BRAT diet. (Anyone in need of a cupcake fix is invited to raid our freezer! We're still afraid to eat them.)

Yet despite the aforementioned glitch, the onset of molars (a wonderful catalyst to already irritated bowels...) and very little parental energy, the kids were nothing short of their usual amazing selves. Cranky at times, but they didn't waver in their ability to make us smile like morons:

Carli is recognizing faces, and loves to kiss photos (and real people too). Uncle Jordan's photos and Uncle Larry's magazine ads are two of her faves. She is also practicing tones and syllables- and while very few decipherable words are spoken, she has mastered the art of gobbledygook so well that even strangers have to agree when she says "doig doig degok degok degok".

Joseph, our mellow yet steadfast studmuffin is one heck of a multitasker. While Carli's approach to crawling was textbook and formulaic, Joseph realized that the sum of his body parts equal one very competent machine. He is still quite the yoga tot and uses streches and movements to accomplish most moving tasks. While we cannot quite describe how he gets from one end of the playroom to the other, suffice to say that he does it before you can say "If you're happy and you know it clap your hands".

Now if you'll excuse us, we are happy and we know it and now it's time to stomp our feet.

Till next time!

The 11th Hour

It's hard to describe the time warp that has been that last 11 months. If Carli were to make an attempt, it would sound something like, "bwee bwee, bway bway. Eh-niy-niy. Boo." Joseph prefers to be quoted on "veh veh veh, dote, dote, buh buh BOP". (note: at the time of publishing, Carli has graduated from single syllables to multi-toned warbling)

We are discovering new ways in which two very small people can make very large changes each day. Carli has realized that the kitchen is far more interesting than the playroom; nothing new there, but the hilarity of Carli talking to her reflection in the oven window is. Joseph has unleashed his inner yoga guru. While we have no idea what the positions are called, we are sure that he is learning to build strength in contorting ways that are making us envious. One minute he's sitting and playing with his musical instruments, the next he's on his hands, one leg out to the side, the other in lotus, looking simultaneously petrified and thrilled.


Interestingly, as parents (albeit rookies), there are some things we have grown accustomed to. We expect that silly songs will make them laugh; we do not expect things like mom flossing to send Carli into a tizzy. (Future dentist, maybe?) We expect Joseph to laugh when we blow bubbles at bathtime, we do not expect the accidental scratching of nails on his bath seat to cause an eruption of guffaws. But as we were told, the least expected events are treasures.


Also enjoyable (for now) is the mimicry. Now that Carli's a seasoned "quacker", she likes to mimic mom and dad as follows: Joseph is usually soothed by a song whose chorus is a series of quacks- with gratitude to Raffi- and we therefore sing it to him when a sudden outburst occurs. One morning, Joseph was crying in his crib, and before we got to him we heard Carli quacking to him much like her parental units do. Even funnier was that it did the trick.


Of special note is the early morning comedy hour- assuming they're laughing and mom and dad, Carli and Joseph are taking advantage of their crib time (and we're taking advantage of our monitors, heaven help us when they finally figure out that we can hear them) to laugh back and forth. They laugh, we laugh, the whole house snickers, and somewhere a neighbor thinks it's time to call the state mental health officials.



And a round of applause as now brother and sister hold their own bottles... and an exasperated sigh of relief from mom and dad.

As always, we love having you share our awesome family moments. Now we have to warm up our pipes in preparation to sing Happy Birthday.

Better Late....

Sorry for a late posting. First, Dad was overseas and it took a few days to catch up. Second, we had a total camera scare when we thought the photos of our first haircut were lost in fairy-pixel land (just south of the planet of the lost socks).

However, recovery of the photos was seamless, and recovery of mom and dad is still taking place. Recovery of offspring of missing dad, priceless.

As you can see, Carli and Joseph had their first haircut, and we are both proud and scared that enough time has passed (And follicle growth!) to even warrant a haircut.

Even more confounding is the exponential amount of firsts this past month brought. Carli will politely ask you for an apple "apoo", is using her right hand to count the fingers on her left, and is reminding her little rubber duckie to quack: "Gok Gok Gok". This week, while watching a baby einstein video, she looked at the screen, and proceeded to locate the main character in the book we were reading. She is crawling faster than mom can close the doors to all the closets and cupboards. And she is also doing well with saying Hi to everyone.

And for Joseph, he is a perfect gentleman these days. He has been setting the sharing example at gym class, and has developed table manners to make us all look a little cro-magnon. If his morsels are messy, be prefers to be spoon fed; and when he feeds himself, should any crumb be outside of his mouth, his little fingers push everything in. He also prefers to acknowledge your questions after swallowing. And his love for music is becoming more physical... when he sits atop his toy truck he will push himself to the rhythm of whatever's playing. Or, if he isn't pushing himself, he is doing the Joseph boogie that can melt Greenland.

So keep warm this month and we'll be back soon!

Our 9th Month

This month heralded equal parts separation anxiety and sibling bonding. Nothing quite marks the significance of parenthood quite like a scream when we leave the room. But nothing marks the impact of twins more than when Carli and Joseph team up; and as you can probably guess, the latter has upped the laugh factor considerably.

Carli and Joseph are making family time fun whenever they can. Sometimes they will hold hands while seated in their high chairs, or Joseph will drape an arm around Carli when we're buying groceries in the double-seat shopping wagon. They also took good care of each other while getting a flu shot, they held hands while the nurse was prepping them.

We're also huge fans of their salutations from across the room- somewhere at the bottom of his throat Joseph begins a hearty hello, to which Carli copies mom's "Hi!", and thus the exchange begins. Now that they are both using a lot more tone in their babbling, save for actual words, they have great conversations.

And their requests are becoming more discerning, or maybe it's that we are bombarded with whines whenever we aren't holding them. No complaints from us, as we know the day will come (and far too soon) when they won't let us hold them.

Physically they are learning more about their bodies daily, Carli has begun hoisting herself up on certain toys, and is sometimes annoyed that the shimmied her way into a corner. Joseph is taking his music very seriously; he's got a little "boogie" that he breaks into whenever he's playing or listening to music.

They are also making the move from "Book as chew toy" to "Book as entertainment". So they smack the book around for a while, who says one has to read to enjoy literature?

Some fun firsts this past month included a trip to the aquarium, where Joseph took quite well to the penguins and Carli bonded with a seal after it sneezed in her general direction. We also lit the menorah as a family for the first time, a nice way to close out 2006!

And as always, we are thankful for their happy and funny dispositions. We're also glad to hear that you are all enjoying sharing our blog- we hope you'll join us for more antics in 2007.

Speaking in Tongues

Yaaaaaaaa, yayayayaya. Nyaa na na na na na. Nyien Nieyn. Babababa.
Heow. Heow. Ba Ba Ba.
-Carli


Bobobobobo. Dededededede, fffffft ffffft. Yayaya. Ooooh.
-Joseph


What a month! It's been one of our busiest, and gratefully better than the last. (But we seem to say that each month, don't we?) Our trip to Montreal was wonderful, especially seeing four generations celebrating Bubbie and Zadie's 60th wedding anniversary.

Events aside, this month has brought subtle changes to everyday tasks. The new sounds of babbling, the extra efforts the kids are putting into their movements. From watching Carli stick her butt in the air while attempting to crawl, from Joseph smacking a hand directly on the noise- generating part of the toy, we see daily how they are learning. But more important, it's just fun.

The current conundrum is our transition to solid food. While both are enjoying the tastes of mom and dad cuisine, they sure aren't appreciating the textures yet. Luckily our wardrobes are wash and wear, and the cuteness of their newly flourishing pincer grasp makes up for the amount of swatted morsels of food currently tiling the floor. Gotta love those chubby little fingers playing with cheerions. And gotta love it even more when the cheerio doesn't quite make it into the mouth and stays plastered to the chin.

And this month's cutest moments:
(Disclaimer: choosing the following incidents made thermonuclear physics seem elementary.)

Joseph, nature buff and overall fan of the outdoors, enjoyed a flock of birds flying through our backyard by announcing buh! buh! buh!
Carli, who prefers to be spoken to like a peer, responded to the following statement by doing exactly as I requested:
"Carli, you're too close to the television. Can you please come closer to me?"

With that, we leave you to enjoy your Thanksgiving and upcoming month!

The Real Story...

Hi Everyone!

As you can see, the gang is getting more mobile each day. Before long, Carli will be crawling toward her favorite toy (also known as the other toy), and Joseph will be able to roll to the other side of the room where his musical boat waits for him to rip off the dangling fish.

Dear blogophiles, confession time: as the self-proclaimed wordsmith of Team Aboudi, I have been letting my standards get in the way of frequent updates. Instead of giving you the real story, I have been waiting for the perfect description of Carli and Joseph's progress to hit me. And the truth is, we are all familiar with the development of little people, I'm sure the last thing you want to read is just another way of saying, "The kids are eating solids" and "They are babbling." Well, I know you want to read about the kids, but the standard lines are so beneath you. And I apologize.

And I'm sure you'd much rather invest your reading time in something more like, "While slipping on the spilled peas, I tried not to curse, and yelled "snit, stupid futhermugger". Hence, I will try and bring you the real story.

But let's not forget how funny the kids really are these days. Carli, also known as Emily Post around these here parts is keeping order whenever possible. Should she become aware of a sneeze, or gaseous emission of some kind, her head quickly turns in such direction. She then stares you down until she hears "pardon me". She is also quite fond of order and efficiency- for just the other day she gave me the greatest "wait are you waiting for?" stare-down when I took my time loading the car. Oh, and that perfect shriek she's been working on? Mission accomplished. We've counted approximately 400, 000 dogs howling since last Wednesday. And just when you thought that "light up the room smile" couldn't illuminate brighter, Rockefeller center called regarding their holiday plans. Carli refused on the grounds that the Times Square menorah is a better pursuit.

Joseph is getting more and more hospitable- he loves to tell his favorite anecdotes- in the form of "bo bo bo bo buh buh buh". He is also making it very clear that he would like to improve his independence later. Hugs and cuddles come first. He is also taking the role of brother very seriously. While shopping last week, Carli started crying (so many fashion mistakes taking place, who can blame her), and Joseph quickly grabbed her hand and reassured her.

We're now getting ready (read: trying to figure out how much stuff we can cram into the van) to visit Bubbie and Zadie for their 60th wedding anniversary celebration. The kids can't wait to be spoiled rotten. And show off their performance of the kitchen concerto, featuring the saucepan symphony.

So until the next posting- which I promise to write while bleary eyed and void of superfluous adjectives- I, Danny and the kids wish you wonderfulness.

Holy Wow...

It is with utter disbelief that we log our sixth month with these amazing little people. Everyone warned us how quickly the time would fly- is there some sort of fast forward button that gets pushed when you enter parenthood? Surely appears so.

Since we last posted, (sorry that we slacked off in August, we took advantage of summer vacation mode) Carli and Joseph have jumped great hurdles and we are continually grateful and thrilled.

They are definitely musical children. We often hear Carli singing softly, especially to Ella Fitzgerald's version of Old Macdonald. Joseph prefers more stacatto and likes to blurt back at Raffi or Cab Calloway, depending on the mood. They really respond to classical music, and especially like it when mom leaves the room and dad puts on the classic rock station. And future club kid Joseph keeps a good beat going when the dance music comes on.

And bon apetit- there is no experience quite like watching babies experience food for the first time. And of course, them being products of us, they are obviously excellent eaters. Except for one episode with pears that will take years of psychotropic pharmaceuticals to forget, they have been consuming a nice variety of fruits and veggies. We say consume, because it doesn't get eaten until it's been put in their mouth, dug out with their thumbs, strategically smeared where the bib isn't covering, smelled, and finally swirled with a curious tongue. We laughed so hard the first time Carli actually yelled at us. We're not positive, but it probably meant, "You idiots! Can you stop being such jerks? You think I look silly? Have you ever seen how stupid you look when you make faces at me? Shut up and feed!" During her subsequent feeding, realizing what amateurs she's dealing with, she grabbed the spoon and attempted to feed herself.
Joseph, being more of a routine kind of guy, needed a few feedings to reassure him that the bottle wasn't being replaced, just supplemented. He was comforted by our new mealtime favorite songs, "Apples and Bananas" and "Down By The Bay". This eventually led to the habit of singing said songs to establish a comfortable meal with each meal, and right now we are trying everything short of headbutting concrete to get those darn ditties out of our heads.

But then they both smile at us, and we are gooey like warm chocolate chip cookies. (what? lose the food metaphor?)

And the kids are setting up office with their exersaucers, which is all too funny. When not rocking in those, they are trying to sit up, and Joseph is almost unassisted. Where does the time go?!

On that note, in order to keep up with our growing sprouts, we are off to get some rest.

We'd also like to wish everyone a sweet, healthy and prosperous new year. We are thinking of all of you.

With dried applesause on our shirts,
Jennifer and Danny

Summertime... and the living is...

...somewhat busy. Then again, make that all
kinds of busy.

We've been keeping mom and dad on their toes while we're hanging out on our tummies. We just wanted to say hi to everyone- we'll keep this one short, as mom is totally tired these days (but she and dad always have these silly smiles on their faces) and we don't want her to type all night long.

Some fun Carli Facts

• Favorite time of day: 6:15am. The best singing (yes, singing) and babbling you ever heard.
• The perfect shriek is still being worked on. Practice hour is usually from 4:30-5:30pm.
• Has been rolling over like a champ, and is very fond of the word YAY!
• And has this contagious smile that creeps across her face whenever the word "Daddy" is mentioned.

Some Joseph stats

• Is currently the biggest flirt on the block.
• Loves adding his own commentary to Baby Einstein DVD's. Viewings are a great source of entertainment for mom.
• Gets the greatest giggles when hanging with the boys.
• Prefers his hands to pacifiers.

That's about all for now- we'll be back soon with more stories and silliness. We hope you're having a great summer!

Love,

Carli & Joseph

First Quarter Report

Some Highlights from the First Quarter Report:

CEO Mom and COO Dad painfully regret not buying shares in both Pampers and Formula.

Due to the fact that both VPs Carli and Joseph sleep through the night, Sleep cycles are almost back to normal.

The entire Executive team at Aboudicorp is stunned that three months have passed since the inception of the company. Well, the VP's aren't all too familiar with the feeling of being stunned, they are amazed at the amount of time that has flown by. Carli was a little bothered that she already outgrew her favorite pyjamas.

As of 6/13, current weights are 12.4 pounds for Carli, 15 for Joseph. That would explain the increase in Mom's consumption of Advil. Oy, that aching back. Everyone's muscles are getting stronger every day, and the range of motion is also gaining momentum.

The recreation committee is thrilled that the beautiful weather has brought lots of long walks, trips to the boardwalk and road trips. The committee is also happy to welcome the summer crowds to the area, as it will mean lots of time with cousins and family!

With our big trip to Montreal just around the corner, all are looking forward to their first long distance drive as a family. The goal is to change a diaper in each county until we hit the border. We are confident that Carli and Joseph are up for the challenge.

As you can see, we are thankfully surrounded by constant smiles and giggles- the VP's have been wildly successful boosting company morale.

We love your feedback, please send us reports from your end.

Love,
The Executive team