Tuesday – 09 October 2012
Today, the little ladies of Team DiVa decided to dress up in a Mini-Justice League theme:
Diana went with her namesake:
…based on the “Odyssey” version of the costume…
…while Vanessa opted to dress up as The Flash:
And that, as they say, is that.
Namaste.
Sunday – 07 October 2012
Here’s a little something to add a smile or two to your Sunday:
Diana
Vanessa
Thursday – 04 October 2012
First off, let me wish my Godsister, Tammy, a very happy birthday.
Next, I have to say that Sara! and I had a great third anniversary yesterday. And, we’d like to say “Thank you,” to our well-wishers.
My in-laws came over to watch the girls so that Sara and I could enjoy a day off together. We spent the late morning and early afternoon on the Heber Valley Historic Railroad.
Knowing my love of trains, Sara! thought that I would enjoy a scenic train ride.
She was right.
We rode on the Provo Canyon Limited. The trip is a little over sixteen (16) miles, each way, but takes roughly three hours to complete. The train was even “robbed” at one of the stops. Michael, our tour guide, and Greg, our conductor, also provided historic information about the train and some of the places that we passed through.
And, on the whole: It was a lot of fun. Pictures of the trip can be seen here.
After the train trip, we drove up to The Sundance Resort for lunch at The Foundry Grill. Although I’ve been in Utah for… fourteen years, as of yesterday… it was my first time at Sundance. It was quite nice, especially with the fall foliage. For lunch, I had a steak sandwich with garlic fries; Sara had a Reuben with sweet potato fries. We both thought that our respective meals were good.
After we returned home, we picked up the girls and headed out to The Cheesecake Factory for anniversary dessert. We returned home with four kinds of cheesecake:
After dinner and the girls were put to bed, we fired up Stardust (a movie we both enjoy), opened a bottle of champagne and set to work on the cheesecake. We made it through the movie, but only half of each piece of cheesecake. So rich. But, oh so good, too.
All-in-all, it was a great way to end the day.
Namaste.
Wednesday – 03 October 2012
Happy third anniversary to Sara!, who still rules.
Thank you for another fantastic year.
I can’t wait to see what the next one and all of the ones that follow bring.
Tuesday – 02 October 2012
It’s Tuesday. And I hereby post these pictures of the Team DiVa Twins as is my right as their father.
So is it written, so shall it be done!
Rare picture of Diana wearing a hat (for about 2 seconds….)
Vanessa
Hanging out with Papi
At this rate, I should have a Team DiVa icon. I’ll have to get someone on that.
“And that’s all I have to say about that.”
Namaste.
Sunday – 30 September 2012
It’s been “a while” since I posted. Huh. And with that out of the way, on with the show.
The girls of TeamDiVa are doing well.
Vanessa (l) and Diana
They are walking – with gusto – everywhere. At least, everywhere that we let them go. And, their stair-climbing prowess has increased, as well. We also introduced them to Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back last night. It was a brief introduction, about 5 minutes. Granted, it was the first five minutes of the movie – meaning, it was also possibly the slowest five minutes – but they did okay. I’m not entirely sure that it was enough to engage them fully at this age. We might try again in six or so months.
I’ve also learned that both the #TeamDiva tag and @TeamDiva on Twitter refer to people that aren’t TeamDiVa… especially as Twitter doesn’t differentiate between capital and lower-case letters. With that in mind, Twitter posts referring to the twins will be designated #TeamDiVa2011.
A couple of weeks ago, I Sara!, the girls and I visited the Urban Flea Market:
It was much smaller than most flea markets I’ve been to, fitting into less than half of a business parking lot. At the first stall – The. Very. First. One. – that we passed, I found a few things that I could not leave the market without: A Bachmann Norfolk & Western Class J 4-8-2 engine and tender, a Tyco B&O 4-6-2 Pacific engine and tender, a pair of B&O diesel engines I can’t completely identify (possibly SD-60s, but I’m not sure) and five B&O passenger cars. The only “problem” was that they are all HO Scale, which is “Half-O,” which makes them half the size that I usually collect.
Of course, that didn’t stop me from bringing them home.
Seriously. Would I have these pictures if I didn’t?
BAM.
I’m still giving serious thought to making a two-sided door layout, with these trains on one side and Marklin European trains on the other.
And that reminds me: The train room is days away from completion. The last coat of topping compound was applied on Friday. It’s getting sanded tomorrow. After that, it’s down to sweeping and paint. (And deciding what I want to do for flooring.) But everything else is ready. I’ll post pictures soon. It looks amazing. And I’m pretty excited about being able to set up and run my trains again.
And with that, I’m out.
Namaste.
Sunday – 16 September 2012
Here’s a couple of Team DiVa pictures for your enjoyment!
Diana
Vanessa
And with that, enjoy the rest of your Sunday.
Namaste.
Tuesday – 11 September 2012
It’s Tuesday.
As many businesses offer “Two-For-Tuesday” specials, I figured: Why shouldn’t I? After all, I have two daughters. And it’s just as easy to offer up a few pics of both of them as it is of just one of them. (And this way I don’t look like I’m favoring one over the other.)
And so, here they are:
Vanessa (l) and Diana in birthday dresses from their Aunt Marie
Vanessa, getting ready to take on the world
Diana, wondering why we haven’t left yet…
You wouldn’t have left these here if you didn’t want us to drink them, right…?
And there’s some Tuesday cuteness for you.
We now return you to your regularly-scheduled day.
Namaste.
Sunday – 09 September 2012
It’s Sunday morning, the day after the girls’ first birthday party.
That’s right… The girls of Team DiVa are no longer “Adventure Babies,” they’re “Adventure Tots!”
Vanessa (l) and Diana… with cake!
More pictures – and a couple of videos – from the day can be seen here.
This has been a busy weekend, and I would like to extend a very grateful “Thank you” to everyone who helped make it fun and special for the girls.
My mother and uncle left a little while ago for the airport. It’s the first time I’ve seen Mom (other than a couple of video chats) in just shy of a year and the first time I’ve seen my uncle since last Christmas. I am delighted that they were able to be here for the girls’ birthdays. My father and stepmom weren’t able to make it out, but we did have them on a Skype video call for some of the party festivities. (Hey, it was better to have them virtually present than not having them involved at all. Thank you, Technology!)
Team DiVa: Year One has been good and I look forward to Year Two… and beyond!
Namaste.
Saturday – 08 Septembert 2012
Today is Vanessa’s first birthday:
Like her sister, she’s come a long way since this:
Sleeping through the night. Eating solid foods. Blowing raspberries. Dancing. Understanding a little sign language… and talking. Walking. Taking road trips.
As far as Vanessa’s personality goes, she’s just as fun-loving as her sister. She’s also a little more mischievous. Yeah, mischievous… at one; we are doomed. She loves to dance to songs from The Muppet Show and Sesame Street… as well as the theme from Josie and the Pussycats. (And, she’ll even give a few good wiggles to Harry Belafonte’s Jump in the Line.) And she loves to watch cars go by on the street.
As I said in yesterday’s post: Sara and I have been blessed with a fantastic couple of daughters. It’s been an amazing first year of parenthood and I’m looking forward to all the years of parenthood to come.
Friday – 07 September 2012
Today is Diana’s first birthday:
This little girl has come a long way since:
Sleeping through the night. Eating solid foods. Blowing raspberries. Dancing. Understanding a little sign language… and talking. Walking. Taking road trips.
It’s also been a lot of fun watching her personality develop, too. She’s a fun-loving girl who enjoys “reading” books – which usually turns into handing said book to Sara! or me to read to her. (And, yes, she does have a couple of favorites.) She is also pretty fond of her computer (at least the AlphaBaby application), too. She also seems to already have something of a soft spot for Will Smith’s music, as well. And she loves a good game of Chase/Hide-and-Seek.
Sara and I have been blessed with a fantastic couple of daughters. It’s been an amazing first year of parenthood and I’m looking forward to all the years of parenthood to come.
Monday – 03 September 2012
In less than a week, Diana will have her first birthday. (Where does the time go!?)
This video was taken yesterday:
Diana on the go…
[FMP]http://echopulse.net/teamdiva/2012-09-02/Strollin.m4v[/FMP]
Right-click or ctrl-click this link to download
This is just another in a series of milestones that she’s hit. She’s been walking for the past couple of weeks. A step here. A step there. Crawling when she gets frustrated or loses her balance, but for the most part, she’s been having a ball figuring out how the whole “walking” thing works.
And, it seems as though Vanessa won’t be far behind.
Namaste.
Thursday – 23 August 2012
Man, I turn my back on this thing for a minute… and nearly two weeks go by!
To make up for it, here’s a little Team DiVa goodness for you:
Vanessa (l) and Diana
Yep, they’re in overalls that their grandparents bought them – and have been waiting for them to grow into – a few months ago. What you can’t exactly tell is that they are also wearing matching/coordinating t-shirts that their Aunt Galadriel bought them: Diana’s says “Copy,” where Vanessa’s says “Paste.”
These shirts, in fact.
The girls are doing well. Diana’s has trying out the whole “walking” thing; Vanessa has taken steps, as well… just not as frequently (or as daringly) as her big sister. They are also learning some sign language. So far, the big hits have been:
And, at this point, we are slightly over two weeks away from them turning one-year-old. Wow.
Sidenote 1: Last night, I started teaching the girls to shake their fists and scowl – although, so far, I’ve only getting smiles and smirks – when I say “DOOOM!” It’s pretty amusing.
Sidenote 2: I totally missed an opportunity to video Diana rocking out to Rage Against the Machine’s Renegades of Funk. BAH!!!
Stray Toasters
Okay, off to do some gaming, I think…
Namaste.
Sunday – 12 August 2012
Another Pleasant Valley Day, although it’s a bit hazy. I’m not sure if that’s fully attributable to the recent fires, if it’s just the inversion kicking in again, or both. Still, it’s not a bad day.
Since it’s been claimed that I never post pictures of the girls smiling…
Diana
Vanessa
Here’s a little Team DiVa photographic rebuttal:
Diana, with books and a smile
Vanessa, all smiles
Q.E.D.
Namaste.
Thursday – 26 July 2012
It’s another NBN Thursday in the valley.
Were she alive, my maternal great-grandmother would have been 112 today.
Last night, Sara! and I watched In Time for Movie Date Night:
To be honest, it wasn’t bad. It reminded me quite a bit of Logan’s Run, but had enough of a twist to make – and keep – it interesting. I was also quite surprised to see [REDACTED], [REDACTED], and [REDACTED] in the movie, too.
Chew on This: Food for Thought – Adventures in Parenting
As a parent, I’m always happy when Diana and Vanessa hit developmental milestones. One such achievement happened a few months back when the girls figured out how to roll from their backs to their stomachs. Sara! and I were delighted at this… um… “turn of events.” However, as the girls started making other advancements, we seemed to forget about the rolling over. Until recently. The girls have taken it upon themselves to remind us just how big a deal that barrel rolls are…
…when we are changing their diapers.
Vanessa is especially adept at this. Just as you get the loaded diaper open and bear witness the havok within, she decides that it’s time to roll to her left. This usually results in a lot of under-the-breath expletives. And the thought processes – and physical gymnastics – of “How do I keep this from getting on everything?!”
So far, nothing has gotten to the point where we’ve had to call in Damage Control or Utah Disaster Kleen-up, but there have been a couple of instances where it’s taken both of us to get from dirty diaper to a clean one.
But, they’re still cute kids and I wouldn’t trade the experience/adventure for anything.
Reading time is still reading time… even if your book is upside-down.
Stray Toasters
Namaste.