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Shared photo book from Amy

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Into the woods...

In May, we took a vacation and drove around Northern CA. Jim wanted to do some "impromptu camping". That was most welcome in our pre-kid days, but I was skeptical. It all worked out beautifully though and we had a great time. Photos from the trip can be seen here.

If Z&A could fully express themselves, they would say that the highlights from the trip were most definitely 1) playing in the driver and front passenger seats of my car (never before allowed) and 2) McDonald's Playland, which was also a first.

While we realize these two very fun activities could have been had in our driveway and a couple of miles down the road from our house, we hope they also had fun swimming in lakes, hiking on trails, gazing at tall redwoods and vast the vast Pacific, playing in a creek, meeting a banana slug, and visiting what is perhaps the world's only cigarette smoke-filled kids' candy store (located in Ferndale - Jim and I were gagging the entire time and couldn't get our kids out of there fast enough, so sorry, no photos).

Two Times Two

Zayn and Annalise are TWO! It's hard to believe that this much time has gone by. They continue to amaze me every day and make me laugh (and sometimes want to cry). This picture shows them in front of the tree at their Dr's office that we took pictures of at week 1 and at a year old. See here for those photos:

http://zaynandannalise.blogspot.com/2008/04/that-was-then-this-is-now.html

They are the cutest little people and have such incredibly distinct personalities.

Zayn is sweet and aloof, all at the same time. He's the thinker - tends analyze and can be cautious in new environments. But once he assesses the situation and feels comfortable, watch out! He's off to the races! He loves to sing and play with his cars; loves reading books and working on puzzles. His ability to sit and work on something astounds me.

Annalise is the dare devil - she is always drawn to danger and constantly has bruises on her legs. Jim predicts she'll be bringing home motorcycle-riding boyfriends. She is bubbly and smilely, but has been known to give strangers the stink eye. She loves anything soft and cuddly and will cry if it's time to take a dress off. She loves books and her favorite song in the whole wide world is the Hello Song from music class.

They both entertain themselves (and each other!) really well and love to be out and about. We keep busy with various classes, school, and playdates with their many friends. Life is fun!

Water Play

We've had some hot summer days in September and the kids love playing in water.


We met some friends at a local park and the kids enjoyed the water feature...

I just wonder how clean the water is? I think Annalise drank a gallon that day.

More fun at the park

The kids LOVE swings. Just look how happy they are:

I love Zayn's bog innocent doe eyes in this picture. You would never guess what a little monkey he is when looking at this:

How wonderful to get so much happiness from something so simple...

At the school

We're trying to sneak in some more walks to the local school while there is still daylight out when Jim comes home from work.

Zayn is checking out the Montessori classroom - he might be attending one day!

Throwing rocks out the window:

Higher Daddy!