Boing! Boing!

Kari and I had so much fun with the babies this Christmas morning. We had a wonderful day with our families! It was awesome to share this time with the babies. We are blessed to have a Lord who loves us in such an indescribable way.

We'll have more pics of our Christmas posted soon, but we wanted to share this video of Nolan and Mila (mostly Nolan). We've had this little horse toy that hooks up to the TV with a video game for toddlers. We thought for sure the babies were too small for the toy. The horse can function without being hooked up to the TV so we put Nolan on it this morning and he went at it like he's been training for the Kentucky Derby for months! His little feet wouldn't touch the ground, but he some how found a way to "boing". Enjoy!

Zoo Lights

A couple of weeks ago we made a regular journey to Portland. Our normal trip consists of a stop at Trader Joes, a visit to Bridgeport/REI/or Washington Square, and occasionally a visit with the Greens. This trip had a special purpose - a visit to the Zoo to meet up with the Compton family for Zoo Lights.

We arrived at the Zoo early (around 4pm) to beat the crowd because we heard the crowd can get pretty busy. We pulled in and had plenty of parking choices. The lights started around 5pm so we walked around the Zoo for a bit. As 5 grew closer, the crowd grew larger. By the time we were off the train ride the Zoo was a zoo. We weren't too surprised by the flow of people considering it was a crisp clear December Saturday. When we left the parking lot was jam packed. Someone waited for our mediocre parking spot while we changed two dirty diapers and loaded up our overly packed stroller!

Nolan and Mila were both troopers and enjoyed the outing. We're definitely blessed to have such patient babies. Nolan was particularly interested in the lights and pretty much starred at them as we cruised around the Zoo. Mila on the other hand, interested in everything, looking from side to side the entire ride.

Below are some pics of our adventure.

Winter Runs

In an effort to keep up the use of our multifunctional Bob double jogger stroller we picked up a rain cover a few weeks ago. I (Conrad) was very excited to keep running with the twins throughout the rainy season. I know that if I wait to run with them again in the spring they'll be twice as big and I'll be sorry. Shortly after we purchased the cover it wasn't raining, but it was a clear chilly day, a perfect opportunity to use the cover to shield the brisk air. Below are some pics of the three of us gearing up for the run.

The babies love when we run...I've yet to hear a peep from either one of them.

Silly Faces...10 Months Old!!

Today Nolan and Mila are 10 months old. Both of them have been so much fun lately (despite the recent cold that has been passed around the Venti household). It is amazing to see the differences in each of them. I'm sure Kari will have a list of their characteristics soon.

For some while now Mila has been making the cutest smiley face with her nose all scrunched up. After watching his sister make this cute face, Nolan decided he'd start making a similar smile. So when they are excited and happy these are the faces we see multiple times a day!

Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving was an extra joy this year with Mila and Nolan around. One of Kari's favorite childhood Thanksgiving traditions was watching the Macy's Parade with the family. Since we've been married we haven't made a special effort to turn on the parade. So with the babies around, she said, "we've got to start the tradition". Nolan and Mila do not watch much tv so they really enjoyed being just feet away from the screen and were, for the most part, interested in what was going on. Nolan was especially interested in the Rockettes :-).

After breakfast and the parade I took Wyatt for a walk in the neighborhood. Upon return, I was not so thankful to see that someone had broken into our car!

Kari's dad, Grandpa Jay, came over (her parents live around the corner) and helped me clean up the mess. Fortunately the thieves were not interested in baby gear and nothing was stolen. While we were cleaning up Jay said, "hey, do you have one of those corrugated plastic signs from church...", so below is a picture of our remedy. After all, we are supposed to "give praise in all circumstances", right?

We finshed cleaning up just in time for lunch around the corner. Kari's family all went to her parents' house for lunch. It is always a great time. The babies had fun with the family and I'm sure the family had fun with the babies.

Nolan in his cute Thanksgiving outfit

Nolan and cousin Carson
Aunt Nancy and Nolan lovin' her necklace
Uncle Jim and Mila Marci and the babies
Grandma Audrey and the twins