Happy Easter!

Rather than picking the best Easter picture, I decided to pick the most fitting. This captures the mood of the Diamond three during photo time today. Ainsley is pouting, Jack is laughing, Kara is crying...
During the afternoon we enjoyed some family time at the pool.

For Easter dinner we had our friends Laura and Matt over with their boys. Ainsley and Ben sat at the kids table which was Ainsley's first time. She was so excited.

After dinner Ainsley and Ben (who Ainsley calls "Ainsley's Ben") had an Easter egg hunt while the babies watched.


Tonight we bid farewell to Grandma D. We will miss her so much!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Melbourne, Australia

This past week I had to go to Melbourne for work and Matt and Ainsley went along with me, while Grandma D stayed in Singapore with the twins. Matt and Ainsley had loads of fun during the day while I worked and then we did adventures as a threesome at night. We had a really good time and fell in love with Melbourne.

Ainsley learned "cheers"
and saw live penguins (which is now her favorite)

I don't know what this is and since I wasn't with them when this was taken I won't venture to guess. Something snow related?
meatballs are now Ainsley's favorite meal

Southgate, by Yarra river

at the zoo

in Williamstown looking towards the city

St. Kilda beach

Sunday, April 5th

Something fun for all three kiddos today...

1) Jack got a new swimsuit from Pa that he enjoyed wearing to the pool.

2) Ainsley got a new toilet that requires no help from mom & dad and she loves it. She can now go on the big potty by herself and flush and mom and dad never leave the comfort of the sofa :-)

3) Kara can now crawl with ease. This video also captures the new relationship between the sisters and the many disputes we will have to settle in the future.

9 Months Old!

Jack & Kara turned 9 months old today. Unfortunately they both have colds so they were not very chipper today, but nothing more than runny noses. Kara started crawling last weekend, but she doesn't go more than one or two steps and then she plops on her tummy. We went ahead and bought a gate just to be safe...mostly because Jack rolls everywhere and he rolls so fast it is hard to keep an eye on him. He seems to have a crush on the marble floors and is determined to get to know them better.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

About three months ago we bought a dvd of "The Wizard of Oz" which seemed like a good idea. In the past three months we have watched this movie (which is now re-named by Ainsley as "Lions and Totos") no less than 2 times a day, 4 times a day on the weekends. So, by now we have seen "Lions and Totos" roughly over 200 times. We have made up trivia games about the scenes, Ainsley has memorized dances and songs, and we are quite literally on the edge of mental trauma from watching this movie so many times. So, we thought it fitting to capture a picture of this epic classic so that the memory is archived.


Ainsley now can take a picture all by herself with our small camera. This is a picture she took last week. Next lesson I will have to teach her how to get more flattering angles of mom :-)

Kara is a pro with her bottle now. Jack has decided he really prefers to outsource the bottle holding. Kara, however, is amazing...you just hand her the bottle and then 7-10 minutes later she is finished and gives the bottle back. She also started a new trick this week -- she can get from laying down to sitting up by herself. She is so much fun to watch and full of smiles and giggles. Jack, ahem, has not been quite so giggly as of late. We're blaming it on teeth!

We bought a new rug for our play area. Long story short is the foam tiles weren't cutting it. They were noisy and a tripping hazzard so we broke down and bought a rug. Ainsley helped daddy lay it down.
Looking super cute in her pig tails.

Two more announcements!

Kara has joined the rest of the Diamond family by no longer being the only toothless one in the clan -- her first tooth arrived this Saturday (exactly one week after Jack).

The biggest news this week is that Kara & Jack are holding their own bottles. It makes feeding time SOOOOO much easier.

This picture is cute because Ainsley specifically requested it. She wanted a photo with she and pooh bear. While this does not look like the actual Pooh Bear, many animals in her entourage have the name pooh bear.

And isn't this CUTE!??!?!

Two Announcements

Jack would like to announce to the world that he now has teeth! His two bottom teeth made their debut Saturday. I tried to get a picture, but he wasn't cooperating, so this is the best we could do...since they are so small you can't see a thing in this picture.


Ainsley is very proud to announce that she is out of her toddler bed and officially in a big girl bed. Ainsley picked out her new comforter (which matches nothing else in her room) and is super proud. She also said good-bye to the pacifier with a lot of encouragement :-)



Kara has no announcements this week but I will announce for her that she has gone two weeks now without vomiting. This is a huge leap from the once-a-day eruption we had gotten used to. Ahh, progress!!!