Happy Thanksgiving!

We attended two Thanksgiving feasts this year. The first was with Wetzel cousins and the second with the Hayatsus.

My cousins Maria and Rose with Uncle Ed and Aunt Marian.
Ed and Marian are the last of the 8(?) of my father's generation.

Here Erika sticks out her tongue.

At the Hayatsu festivities, we see Ilene and Erika sharing a special bonding moment.
Whatever game they could possibly be playing is beyond all conjecture.

Strategic Milkshake

Once again, Erika did not want her picture taken, but she will allow me to photograph the back of her head all I want; not what our blog readers want to see! She had just gotten her hair cut for the holidays, so I wanted to get that documented before the little hair clip went flying.
Anyway, here we see Erika sharing some of mommy's new diet. Jackie is eating a lot these days, as the twins seem to be sucking down the calories at an amazing rate. A large Jack-in-the-Box milk shake is deployed strategically here. The novelty of two straws has lasting appeal.

Twins?

I don't usually post internal pictures, but this one is quite interesting.

Jackie had her first ultrasound this evening, and behold, two tiny Wetzels. Yes, two. One, two.
Hearts are beating and all that, so that is a good sign! They took my (Jason's) blood so they can compare genetic markers to Jackie. Since we are old (over 35) and having twins, we are high risk. The genetic counsellors are standing by.... Have your insurance card handy.

Jackie is on a strict protein and haagen dazs diet now. Steak and ice cream! She's eating for herself and 2 very hungry little peanuts.

Video games, anyone?

It's never too early to start with the playstation.... is it?

Halloween - take it or leave it, apparently.

What was Erika for Halloween? Not interested that's what.

I'm wondering if Jackie and I didn't really sell it properly. Despite the "news" reporting that Halloween is the new Christmas, we spent less than $10 this year including candy. Besides our lack-luster approach, having just returned from our Boston trip yesterday, Erika is still short on emotional resilience, enthusiasm for novelty, and tolerance of any inconvenience.

I can't blame her since I don't really have much enthusiasm for the holiday myself. This is not because of an affected piety like that sported by the neighborhood evangelicals in the face of a decidedly non-Jesus-y holiday, but more of a realization that it's cold and dark outside and there is plenty of candy already within reach. Why dress up for it? I think this sentiment is well captured in the photo above.

The one thing about Halloween that Erika does enjoy is the cat imagery. Thanks to all of you who sent her Halloween cards! As a side note, be assured that no card goes unnoticed. They are discussed often and recycled- recycled as just about anything. Standing on them is big right now. Some favorite cards are considered as books and need to be read and re-read aloud. One particular "Happy 1st Birthday" featuring the Care Bears is still going strong after nearly 2 years of use.

Visiting Aunt Kimi

Hard to believe we made it all the way to Boston this weekend. Aunt Kimi showed us a density of things you don't get to see in our usual suburban environment

We got a chance to visit with Jackie's long-time friend, Juliette, who happens to have a daughter also named Erica. The East Coast Erica and the West Coast Erika finally meet!

Uncle Chris played a key role in the fun on Monday night. Kim, delirious from pharmaceuticals after her hand surgery, shows Erika art someone gave her.



Getting around Boston is easy if you master the "T". Erika is not much for the noises, so it will take a bit more practice.

Halloween fun?

Erika has yet to enjoy a pumpkin patch. We are 0 for 3. However this year there was a giant, inflatable cat at least.

20-20-21

Mommy was measuring herself and Erika wanted to be part of the action. For those interested, Erika's measuremeents are 20-20-21.

Autumn Sun

This photo has a very 1960s feel to me. I played with the color focus for dramatic effect. I wish the weed bucket and other stuff was not behind there, but oh well. It's hard to plan photo ops!

Pensive in the park

Trying on Dresses

It's certainly autumn now; best to stay in and try on summer dresses.

Erika's wings

The theme for today is wings!
And magic wands if you have such a thing handy.

As often happens, Erika is not interested in being photographed right now; being discovered after the first flash, I received a rather harsh wand pummeling.

In fact, if you have never had an angry 2-year-old try to beat the snot out of you with a magic wand then you, my friend, are missing something.

She has blue wings too. I only watch about 15 minutes of TV regularly. Here Erika is as fascinated as I am with uncle Jimbo and his Mad Money show on CNBC. Dow 14,000! Wow! Again.

Who wants cupcakes?

It's finally Autumn! Time to stay inside and bake cupcakes! This is the first time that she is truly helping in the kitchen. She dumped the ingredients in (she's an expert at dumping things) and mixed everything together as best she could. Licking the spatula followed.

I would also like to record here one of our many seemingly random conversations with Erika. While we were eating dinner on Saturday, the below conversation transpired:

Erika: Mommy, mommy, mommy!
Jackie: What is it, Erika!?
Erika: When is my birthday!?
Jackie: Your birthday is in December.
*pause*
Erika: I want a candy cane.
End conversation.

Spider and Moon

It is really, really hard to take a picture involving the moon!

Have you ever tried it? I don't know how to do it with our non-professional digital camera.

Anyway, Erika likes to watch bugs. Who doesn't?

Sci-Fi Anyone?

Erika has been carrying around this book quite a bit recently.

Here she is, fresh from the bath before bed time getting in a little last-minute "reading" on the stairs.

Those of you in the know about this particular book will find it an interesting choice I'm sure!

Erika's First Day of Preschool

Today was an important day for Erika; her first day of preschool. It's a co-op preschool where I (Jackie) go with her one day a week and she goes by herself one day a week. Today was an orientation and she did very well. First, there are three rooms. One is the quiet room with books and puzzles, one is the active room with all sorts of fun toys, and the third is the art room. Here Erika is showing her budding artistic technique. She had so much fun in the art room that Daddy will be given 4 new paintings for his office.

Below is the active room with some of her new friends. Erika found something very special in the cabinet she is opening. Could it be? Yes, it's a . . .

A Cash Register! With plastic coins and laminated money! O Joy! Remember last year's interest in such things? Erika spent a good 15 minutes in the noisy active room playing with it. The active room is very loud so I thought she would just look around and demand to be taken back to the quiet area, but no. I'm sure Daddy will want to comment on this too.

All in all, it was a good first day of school. Erika seemed sad to leave.

Russian Doll or Cupcake?

Lavender-scented and fresh from the bath, Erika wraps up to dry.

This particular evening she insisted on wearing the towel as shown.

Happy Birthday to Daddy

Uncle Mark and Jason in 1972.
Note the blond hair and curls!

Flattering Picture Please

Jason, please post at least one flattering picture of me! Unlike Erika, I no longer look great from every angle.
Your beloved wife.

Picnic at the neighborhod park

This morning our neighborhood held it's anual picnic. Erika was quite interesting in the bouncy thing, but not brave enough to try it all by herself. Jackie spent some time inside there too, just trying to get Erika warmed up a bit. Later, during the sack races, Erika had clearly had enough of the tom-foolery and requested that she and Jackie retire to a safe distance for some peace and quiet. You can barely see them in the sack race picture. (They appear right above the kid with the red shirt.)

Pictures of Erika

So it has been a while since we published. As we are still working on recovering from various colds and sinus ailments, enjoy these random shots of Cupcake as she goes about her day.

This first picture shows Cuppy as she wakes up. What fun to bring all of her blankets and kitties into Mommy and Daddy's bed. She will then pretend go to sleep and wake up at random intervals. Here she is popping awake. Notice that Meow-meow and Tiny Meow are still fast asleep.

This next picture is to remind me that I, Jackie, did contribute half of her genetic material. There is a picture of me about Cupcake's age where I played that I was the 'Jackie in the box'. Cupcake shows that some things are indeed genetic as she plays 'Cuppy in the box' with her clothes hamper.

Next, it is time for some creative expression. Fingerpaints! Nothing is more fun than to make a masterpiece outside on a perfect summer's day. She loves to rub her hands through the paint, make a dramatic pose, and then slam some paint on the paper. Shirts are optional.

Posting delays!

Sorry we have not posted anything in a couple weeks. The weekend before last we and the Hayatsus went to Ocean Shores, WA for some kite flying and digging in the sand. Our camera batteries were dead, so we went with a disposable camera. Erika took all the pictures with it! Now we have to get the film developed as our forefathers used to do. No telling when than will happen.

This weekend we visited Grandma Gladys in Portland. We stayed in a nearby hotel to make things easier on all of us. Anyway, we drove down on Friday morning and it took us over 6 hours to make it the 200 miles. Thanks to all that stupid traffic! Then Jackie ended up with a painful bladder infection, so then we spent quite some time scrambling to find out where to go for treatment. Overall, Erika did the best of all of us.

Erika loves looking at pictures of herself, but when you bring out the camera she has a fit. She will not tolerate her picture being taken if she is in the slightest mood.

Volvo Love; Rabbit Shoe

Here we are in the middle of August already. Fortunately, we live in the Pacific Northwest instead of insert somewhere hot here so we are outdoors every night playing- and not sweating! When she is not picking and eating a ton of local berries, Erika likes to spend time in the Volvo. Why? I don't know. When given a choice of activities, she may well say, "sit in red go-go" as much as almost anything else.

Why is there a rabbit on her foot, you ask? What you are witnessing is toddler humor. This rabbit is actually a hand puppet, but Erika is wearing it as a shoe exclaiming, "I have a shoe!" Clearly, this is not true since rabbits are not shoes. Hilarity ensues; Oh, the delicious juxtaposition! Anyway, this is exactly the type of material that makes a big impression during toddler group. It's right up there with her "I have a hat" routine which is as versatile as it is timeless.

Happy Birthday to Mommy!

This picture is merely a place-holder. Once I come up with a better one I'll put it here, but I wanted to save this spot!

Meet Ben

The swing is a huge part of our day. This is the swing in our back yard, but the one in the park is also good. Maybe there is something about the motion that brings forth creativity, for today we got to meet Ben. Ben is Erika's first imaginary friend!

In this picture, Erika is handing Ben to Jackie.

From what we can tell, Ben is a red firetruck. He likes to climb high. He likes to snuggle, he often needs a diaper changed. He is small. I think she got the idea for Ben from the Cars movie. Although she does not care to watch the movie, she has a Cars postcard which shows all the characters. She studies it every night with a magnifying glass and a flashlight. What punnishment it is to have the postcard taken away. It makes Ben sad.

Erika and the Alphabet

Wedding Party

Erika knows all about parties. Well, Birthday parties at least. This past weekend we attended cousin my Mary's wedding party and Erika enjoyed showing off her dress and doing nose kisses with the guests. Nose kisses are performed by touching noses. Saying "Beep!" is optional. Such cuteness cannot be stopped.

Toddler Miffed

Erika is not happy with the amount of diaper changing necessary. Four of her favorite animals all need changing at the same time. I think the names of the stuffed animals are: Bunny, Big Meow-Meow, Little Mew, and Moo-Moo. What's a pants less toddler to do!?

Company Picnic

The annual company picnic involves an extensive toddler area with pony and hay rides. Erika found lots of things to do, but most things were too much for a cautious cupcake such as herself.

I don't remember this piece of a car from last year. Anyway, here we have a glimpse into the future.

Mountain Meadows in North Bend, WA is a place to hold corporate events. It easily held the nearly 4,000 of us.

Here Erika enjoys the pink plastic house. Forget the 30ft inflatable slide! There is a pink house!