10 Months Old

Today we celebrate 10 months with Jack & Kara!


Jack has four new teeth coming in, putting his total to six. He has been quite unhappy about the new teeth, which means we have had low-grade headaches for about seven days now :-) He is now crawling and pulling up to standing. With both he and Kara crawling it is getting hard to keep up with all three!

Kara continues to be full of smiles and sillilness. She has a big personality and her crawling, cruising and mischief are full speed. No new teeth yet, still just two. Her latest obsession is Cheerios. Do not try to take a Cheerio from this girl!

First Hair Cut

We finally broke down and took Ainsley to get her first hair cut. The long back and shorter sides were starting to look a bit like a mullet and the 2 year old project was looking a bit shabby. Ainsley did really well, she was a little scared at first but then she got over it and didn't cry or fuss a bit. We only trimmed enough to make it look clean and healthy. Afterwards was the best and most important part...a lollipop!

This is how we debate! (by Matt)

So it is 5:13am in the morning and you went to bed at 11:30pm after have a great time bowling and hanging out with friends. You are in a dead sleep wishing and hoping the twins don't wake up, praying that Ainsley doesn't wake up. Then it happens. Jack starts crying. Sweet Jesus you think to yourself, doesn't he want to live to be a teenager??? Apparently he does because he falls back to sleep. All is well go back to sleep, heaven. Pitter Patter, Pitter Patter, creak goes the door and there is Ainsley with blankie, puppy and a book ready to attack the day :(

I swiftly take her back to bed and lay her back down. She begins the debate with a bit of crying and some tears. They taste very salty. It makes me sad. She then brings in the big guns, puts her hand to her mouth says "SSHHHH, Dada sleep with Ainsley". I almost crack but get some resolve from deep down. I say it is "sleepy, sleepy time, close eyes, and dada will come get you in a little bit". She then pulls the trump card and says "Lions and Totos???" and points to the living room - Lions and Totos is the Wizard of Oz, or as it is known on the China editioin DVD, Bo Ying. We watch it several times a day and she now must think that it would be the best thing in the world to watch at 5am.

I leave her and then get back into bed. I think I've won. Four more battles like the one above and it is now 6:00am. The twins have been crying for 20 min.

She gets out of bed this time, I meet her at the door and we decide to call it a draw. The day has begun. We will certainly debate again. The force is strong in this one.

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.