yes, we really do still get asked if they are identical.

now, i understand that people get confused and ask that when they really just want to know if they are similar.

i mean, i get “modern” and “contemporary” confused all the time.

i still say ”fewer” for “less” and “less” for “fewer”.  THAT drives my husband crazy.

but seriously…the ones that actually mean identical?  they make me giggle now.  i can’t hide it anymore.

gemma went as Matilda for her school book week character day.  and that slight smile is hiding her first ever wobbly tooth.

come on tooth fairy, we are ready.

clover finally has enough hair for a ponytail.  a wispy, straggly, wish of a ponytail.   i wonder how old she will be when she gets her first haircut.

kieran has found that he has pockets and like the littlest of tiny men, stands around with his fat baby hands shoved into them..

but at the end of the day, they are still all my babies.

we are just gearing up to enter the tooth fairy phase…bring it on!

they are crazy…thanks for asking.

kids wear things on their heads…right?  cause all i can think about is the little boy from the movie “parenthood” who walks in circles with a bucket on his head, so um, please say your normal kids do this too.

oh and photo info…shot these with my new Sigma 24-70mm f/2.8 lens.  not bad.

why were my kids the only ones with paint in their hair?  I am going to have to buy hooded art smocks.

thank you universe for this activity so that i do not have to do much “art” at home with them yet.

i forgot to take the D3 with me, so these phone shots are the best i could do…probably a good thing as the phone got a little “decoration” by the twins.

clover went back to the hospital today to meet with her metabolic team.  she walked in the door and marched off towards the elevators.  i was merely there to keep up with her and push the stroller holding our bags.  you would never know that only a year ago, she was stuck in a bed in the same hospital.  clearly she does not hold a grudge.

her report was good and as long as she does not get sick (come on spring!), she does not need to return for five whole months.  they even let her skip out of the blood draws this time.  i know that we can manage this and more importantly, she can manage this.  she is so tiny, but strong.

it was amazing to spend the whole day with just clover.  i feel like we really bonded today.  we laughed, we held hands, we did what she wanted.  i have said it before, but i mean it this time…i am going to make a day a week where i spend time with each twin by themselves.  what cool little people they are.

today’s 365 shot with the cameraphone just had to be with my clover jane.

when she needs to be.  for the most part, we are done with the baby bottles…

but some nights, this is what she needs.  and what she needs, she gets.  we are suckers like that.

(more bali pictures soon)

today was clover’s follow up allergy test appointment.  at 6 months of age she was diagnosed with a severe allergy to peanuts and i had to stop nursing her (being american, i was having peanut butter sandwiches daily) and she was put on special formula.  since she was failure to thrive (and also suffering from her metabolic disorder even though we had yet to discover that) we needed to get her well and rid the house of peanuts.  she got better right away, but refused the breast when i tried to get her to nurse again…fair enough, it had been poison the last time she checked.

her reaction to the allergin had been so strong that the doctor had told us this would be a life long issue.  very few kids outgrow a peanut allergy…especially one so severe.  in fact, they often develop more allergies, so come back in a year or so and see what else she needs to avoid.  we got her a little medic alert bracelet and i looked at the labels she would need for her school days.  we worried at every restaurant about peanut oil and we feared for her future as she went out in the world lest she come in contact with a stray peanut.

so today, i packed the twins up and ventured off to get her updated tests.  they pricked…we waited and i did not even bother to have a look.  i knew about the peanuts, i would just wait to see what else was there when they raised her shirt.  when we went in to see the doctor for the results, he had a look at her back where they had stuck her with everything you can imagine.

and he smiled.

he looked at me and said…”normally we give bad news, but she is no longer reacting to peanuts.”

little clover jane has caught a break and beat the odds.  SHE IS THAT KID who grows out of a peanut allergy!

i can’t stop smiling.  while she will have to live with her metabolic disorder for life, she will be able to travel the world and not have to know “no peanuts” in every language she can learn it.

thanks universe, we needed that.

half of the sand you see here was at the bottom of the bath at home later in the evening.

that is proof of fun had.

(i am not sure how clover is going  to deal with peta’s return to new zealand…as you can see here, they are the best of friends.)

today we played just a stone’s throw from a center for buddhism.

(not that we would throw a stone at a buddhist…in fact, quite the opposite.  we picked up some brochures as we have been meaning to go to some classes since we moved here.  they even have a kid’s club!  my kids could use a little zen.  they could use parents with a little zen.)

the twins got dirty, climbed trees and zipped joyfully down twirly slides made for much much bigger kids.

a great afternoon.

i think they have found their new clubhouse.

and maybe i have found mine.

d3 with my 24mm f/1.8 lens and 50mm f/1.4 lens

gemma was all about the potty.  clover is not at all about the potty.  tried it one time, thankyouverymuch.  it will be diapers for her until SHE decides she would like to give the potty a go.  or no diapers as the case may be.

i don’t have a lot of “fear” about putting photos of my children on the web…clearly.  i am of the mind that there are a lot of things more dangerous to my children in “real” life for me to worry about than spending any energy on the supposed nefarious things that may or may not be done with these pictures by people who may or may not actually see these pictures.

but after giving it some thought, i censored this shot for the web for two reasons.

one, clover will someday be a grown up and may not like the idea of her (albeit, delightful) little heinie on the internets

and

two, i actually think it is funnier that way.

don’t worry, we will print the uncensored one for the house.