a morning at the aviation museum

We brought the kids to the aviation museum since Curious George has been more and more interested in planes lately (as evident from the books he has recently checked out at the library). Sometimes the bedtime stories aren't stories, but explanations of what airplane parts do. Anyway, the museum was much smaller than we expected, which worked out in our favor - it was easier to let the girls walk around. What also worked in our favor was that it was in the single digits in the morning and so aside from us and another family, there was nobody around!

Curious George was so excited, he could hardly stop talking and pointing. But then, the gift shot interested him more so the excursion was cut short.

We were accosted by this kid the minute we walked in because apparently, him and his brother are fraternal twins. One boy asked Curious George how he tells his sisters apart, and he went out a dissertation about checking the color of their earrings (with demonstration).

The girls had to wait a few minutes before they could be free of the stroller. Daddy and I were too busy from loosing him. The boy and he stuck to each other like glue and then were off somewhere before we could see what direction they were heading.

Daddy explains to Curious George and Thing 1 the medic airplane.

Thing 1 (pink) & Thing 2 (blue) watch Daddy try the flight simulator.

Experimenting on some of the exhibits that explains some principles of Physics.

It's the girls turn on the airplane. Only Curious George wants in too so Thing 1 was demoted to the backseat with Thing 2. Thing 1 wasn't happy about it.

We went to the local restaurant for lunch. And like Curious George have always done, he asks for the lemon the glass and sucks on it. Oh, how Daddy and I enjoy watching the resulting sour face. He started this when he was less than a year old, and so we decided to try it on the girls. This is Thing 2's sour face.

And then it's Thing 1's turn. It may seem cruel, but it's so much fun to watch. :-)

Before heading home, Daddy drove by the airport in hopes that Curious George would see a plane take off. And he did! It remains to be seen if he'll be as interested in planes like he is in trains. But as parents, all Daddy and I could do is fuel his curiosity.

it's playtime

Thing 2 is in blue, Thing 1 is in pink.

A friend of Curious George invited us to play with him at the local play area. They have missed each other since the boy stopped going to preschool. It took 2 hours to prepare the lunch, snacks and clothes, but we did make it right on time when the place opened. Due to some careful planning and packing, we managed to stay there a good 3 hours without so much as a tantrum. Yay! Curious George and his friend were off playing, so I all I had to do was to make sure he didn't leave the building, while I kept track of the twins. Daddy finds it interesting when I reported that the twins did not play with each other at all. In fact, they were barely together in one spot. The only reason that they were together a few times was when one found what the other was playing with interesting.

first time at the same place, what are the odds?

We went to Chick-Fil-A today for dinner. After we've all eaten, we let the girls play in the play area. This is their first time in a play area at 19 months old. They climbed up, but when reached the opening to the slide, Thing 1 was quite unsure. She hung around and tried to figure things out, but she didn't go for it, all the while getting pressured to go by Curious George. The internal conflict was very apparent and amusing. Thing 2 climbed up as well, but it was clear she wasn't planning on even trying.

This brought back memory of the first time we brought Curious George there for the first time. I couldn't think of how old he was until I got home and searched my old blog. It turns out that Curious George's first play area experience was at 19 months old as well, in the same exact fast food place. How awesome is that! He was a daredevil at that age and went all the way up by himself, except he didn't come down. After much calling and much worrying, I had to climb up in the darn thing and extract the little monkey. Boy, I'm glad I didn't have to do that today! However, Daddy did have to climb up an get both Thing 1 and Thing 2 at least 2 times each.

my daughters are going to grow up tomboys

Which is all the more reason to double my efforts in feminizing them. Well, maybe not. I must admit, I don't mind this at all. I grew up not liking to wear dresses and turned out fine. Right? Right? Right.

Thing 2

Thing 1
(She even lays on the floor to play with the tank and the soldier, just like Curious George.)

romp and roll

I thought I'd posted all the pictures from Christmas, but when I checked the memory card on the camera, I found more!

Here are the girls with Nana and Papaw while Daddy and I loaded the mini van to head home after the Christmas weekend.

one twin has heterochromia

Over the Christmas holiday while at the in-laws', Daddy noticed that Thing 2 also has heterochromia (right eye). It doesn't cover as much of her eye as Curious George's though. Of course we had to check Thing 1 to see if she has it, being identical and all. But Thing 2's eyes are evenly colored. We then looked at all the photos from when they were born. I found discoloration on Thing 2's eye as early as 4 months old. Daddy and I then became obsessed by the topic and searched the internet. Having 2 out of 3 kids with sectoral heterochromia clearly suggests a genetic component. Why Thing 1 doesn't have it isn't really a mystery anymore since there are a lot of genetic studies saying identical twins don't exactly have the same genes. The zygosity DNA testing we had done when they were infants said the girls are identical twins, but of course there are factors that affect gene expression.

Anyway, I told Daddy that it is highly unlikely the heterochromia came from my side of the family. Being Filipino, the variation in eye color in my family only goes from minute differences of brown. We found a picture on the internet of someone with central heterochromia and to me it looked exactly like Daddy's eyes (his eyes are hazel). So I suggested I take a picture of them. Then while we were all curious, I took pictures of Nana and Papaw's eyes (they both have hazel eyes). It seems their hazel eyes may very well be central heterochromia (they are yellowish in the center).

Thing 2's right eye. The discoloration is at 9 o'clock and it's small. We've missed it this long since it just looks like glare on pictures. The discoloration looks greenish, but Daddy says it's a lighter shade of brown.

While on the topic, here is Daddy's right eye. It is hazel with a yellowish/goldish ring in the center.

And for those who are curious as to what possible eye color offspring results when a dark brown-eyed asian gal gets it on with a hazel-eyed caucasian man, here is my eye.

Our little man's heterochromia is here. Thing 1's eyes is exactly the same color as Thing 2's (without the discoloration).

some lovin' feelin' this Christmas

Thing 2 getting cozy with Nana.

Nana was going for a smooch, but Thing 2 stuck out her tongue. She's a sneaky one.

Thing 1 plays hard to get when Thing 2 tries to kiss her. Hugs and kisses are a whole lot better than biting, I say.

Curious George and Thing 1 show some love (before the tackling begins).