Oh my… a year flew by. I know we moms always say it, but it really is remarkable how fast it all goes.

Bell just brings so much light to our home. She is beautiful, sweet, funny and oh-so-sunny. Even though the boys occasionally say, “I don’t want a sister anymore” when she cries in the car, they are so happy to be big brothers… and I think she’s beginning to realize how lucky she is to be born into this crazy household. It used to be that the squeals they made when I got home from work would frighten her. No more. She now just looks at them and giggles.

She’s not quite walking yet, but SO CLOSE. She’s standing alone and walking holding the wall… any day now. Her first word(s) was “Hi Baby.” She said it for the first time on Christmas when I was reading her a book with a baby. I said, “Hi Baby” and she repeated it perfectly. Chris’ mom and I just about flipped. Since then, she says it to everyone… including grown men. It’s adorable.

She’s still a giant. Over 100% in height and 85% in weight. It’s just been so nice to have a big, healthy baby… so much less to worry about than when we had the boys! Sometimes I worry that I’m TOO laid back about her eating. I remember nearly measuring every meal the boys had (not to mention all the medication), and with her, I rarely pay attention!

More later on her birthday, but here’s a video of our little lady at 1 year old.

Had a great new years with the Appelbaums. Ms. Karin came over to feed us some of her tasty grub (a welcomed break from mom and dad’s!) and her kids – Mason and Cameron – stayed up to ring in the new year until 12:30 am!!! It’s the latest we’ve ever been up, and we probably could have been up for another hour with no problem.

To give you a hint as to the alcohol consumed, Mr. Mark used to be a bartender, and was whipping up the Long Island Iced Teas like it was (still) his job. Needless to say, we had our first family sleepover. Woot.

What a great way to kick off a new year!

Cheers,
Quinn

Again… a lot of buildup, but it was worth it! We had a great Christmas Eve complete with Grammy, Deanna (our fabu nanny), Emma (the best thing out of South Africa), Tia, Uncle Chancey and Baby Stella. Our tradition on Christmas Eve is that we all exchange presents and Christmas day is all about Santa. Mom and dad got us way cool slippers and jimmies – also a tradition.

In addition to a few really fun toys Santa brought (remote controlled robots, batman building, dragon dungeons and star wars transformers), we also got big kid booster seats for the car – which honestly, we were super stoked about. Mom did it as kinda a joke to make the presents under the tree look full, but it ended up being a big hit. Note taken for Santa!

Overall, it was a great Christmas and we feel all our good behavior paid off!

Merry Christmas to all!
Cooper (and family)

P.S. (No mailed Christmas card this year, but here’s our electronic one!)

P.P.S. You gotta check out our response from Quinn on opening a present from Mimi

You know you’ve spoiled your kids with too much Santa celebration (or they are sick of waiting!) when they make this face when sitting on Santa’s lap.

Mom and dad thought it would be fun for us to take BART into the city (only a 25 minute ride) to see all the lights and go ice skating at Union Square. Fun it was! I was absolutely fearless on the skates, and Cooper impressed me too with his bravery. Bell is another story, but I guess I’ll give her until next Christmas to get her skillz down.

The best part of the whole trip was when we were on our way back on BART waiting for our train. The UC Berkeley band was also waiting for their train with instruments galore. I FREAKED OUT when I saw a tuba and ran up to look at it. The guy was cool enough to put it around my neck (whilst holding some of the weight) to let me see what it felt like. Unbeknownst to him, I laid my germ-ridden lips right on the mouthpiece and gave it a hoot. The ladies went nuts. Literally. There were some really cute women standing around who gave me a huge round of applause. I think this might be the first time I ever flushed with embarrassment. Cooper also got a whack at it, which was way cool for him.

Tis the season!
Quinn

Upon getting out all our Christmas decorations, we came across these great shirts that Jasmine got us last year (She was one of our favorite nurses when we were in the NICU for 3 months after being born). They say, “He’s the naughty one!” :) We had a good discussion about who was naughty and who was nice…

Also had a great time decorating the tree this year – especially the star on top.

Bell is getting really cool. She’s starting to blab – no words, just blabbing. She’s waving now, which we are all overly impressed with. And she laughs. Laughs and laughs and laughs. Particularly at me. She LOVES when I make faces at her and when Cooper talks to her. She loves reaching for our faces and clapping her hands. She’s 9 months now, and according to her doctor, she’s off the charts tall and 85% in weight. How embarrassing it will be if she turns out taller than me in 2 years?!?!

Eating my broccoli like mad to prevent it.
Quinn

Not only did we have our first sleepover, but it was with GIRLS. We don’t mess around, folks.

Our favorite girls, Pier and Piper, moved to Washington State a few months back, and we miss them so. Their mom and dad was at a wedding this weekend, so they got to stay over with us Saturday night. It was nonstop fun from the second they arrived to the second they left. All four of us crashed bigtime upon separation.

We had movie night at home, so we all got to go to BlockBuster and pick out a movie. Then mom and dad invited us to the “candy bar” where we got to pick out our favorite candy to accompany our popcorn and milk. WHAT A TREAT!

After movie night, we all went into our bedroom and made beds on the floor like we were camping out. Four four-year-olds in one room. Needless to say, there was some chaperoning going on.

The next morning, it was all about the plasma cars. For hours and hours and hours. Video below gives you a snapshot of the fun had by all.

But alas, they are now back home. Long distance relationships are tough, but we are committed!

Missing our ladies,
Cooper

I just refuse to believe Halloween is over. So I continue to dress up in my MANY costumes to live the dream – day after day.

Count Quinn

So, it’s been a while since we’ve been on vacation as a family, so we took the plunger – I mean plunge.

For years we’ve been hearing about Club Med at Ixtapa, Mexico. Many families in the Bay Area go there because it’s relatively easy to get there and parents actually get a vacation. You see, they have something called Kids Club that is basically a fun daycare for children so everyone can have a little fun and relaxing time (Quinn and I were registered, but the ‘rents thought Bell was a little too young). The only problem is that Quinn and I are strange birds and would rather hang out with mom and dad than do crazy cool stuff with other kids our age. Yes, we’re weird. And mom and dad felt bad because after all, it’s our vacation too, so we probably spent about 10 hours total in the Kids Club for the full week.

It was also a real treat because Deanna (our nanny) came with us, so we had tons of fun and lots of attention from the people who love us most. And it turns out, it was crucial that she was there because EVERYONE GOT SICK except for her and Bell, who we kept far, far away from our sick rooms. It started with dad, then the boys were sick sick sick for 2.5 days. And then mom. Poor mom – on the last two days of the trip she was out of commission. So basically, every day, someone was sick.

That didn’t stop us from having a great time, though. When we weren’t sick, we swam in the “kiddie poll” that was ginormous and 3 feet deep (perfect for us!), got thrown in the air by dad in the pool, swung on the trapeze (not us – just mom and Deanna), took walks on the beach, made loads of sand castles, and on and on and on. For some strange reason, I kept telling mom and dad that I wanted to go home. They’ve still not figured that one out yet, but I think I missed my routine and my toys.

All in all, we swam like fish, ate like kings (though mom and dad were surprisingly disappointed with the food at the resort), and slept like bears in hibernation. Oh, and learned what “virgin drink” means. ☺ We’ve now learned that that is what vacation is all about!

Standing firm on having ONLY drinks with umbrellas,
Cooper

How lucky am I? Mom just took a job that has her home on Fridays with me and my brothers, I’ve got two awesome brothers to protect me when I’m older (certainly not today, when they have no idea how much smaller I am than them!), AND I’ve got the coolest cousin, who happens to be a little lady like me.

I’m so excited to grow up with her and show her the ropes. I am, after all, a whole 6 months older.

Growing like mad,
Bell

The day has finally come. I actually think the build up of Halloween has been more fun for the kids than the actual day. Kinda like New Years…

We had a great time at a friend’s house and the boys got LOADS of candy. We have a rule in our house that when it comes to candy, they are allowed to eat the number of pieces as they are years old. So this year, they get to eat 4 pieces of candy on Halloween, and 4 pieces every day until their candy runs out (which will last less than a week). It’s adorable that they don’t even know yet what a rip off this is and don’t even try to ask for more! Of course I’ll try to pull this off as long as I can, but have a feeling that next year I’ll be called on my scam!

Another annual Halloween “tradition” we’ve got in our house is donate half of their candy to the local Children’s Hospital so the children there get to enjoy Halloween as well – even if they weren’t able to go trick or treating. The boys are so proud of this – and it makes my heart warm (not to mention keeping the boys’ teeth in their heads!).

Happy Halloween!
Terra

I think it’s safe to say that we are more excited about Halloween than any other child on the planet. Perhaps more so than all other children combined! There are loads of pumpkin patches nearby and we’ve managed to go three times this season. One in particular that is in a cute little town called Clayton has hay mazes (look above). If you can’t see the absolute glee on our faces in this picture, take my word for it – it very well may be the best day of our little lives. Not only did they have hay mazes and rubber duck races, but they had big bins filled with dried pumpkin seeds that we had a ball in. We literally jumped in those with mama for about an hour.

All this excitement and this is before we get candy in us!!!!!

Coop-de-loop

Mom was just watching me this morning and realized it had been a couple weeks since she took pictures of my quickly evolving self and began a photo shoot while the boys were watching their morning program and I was rolling around. I’m basically all smiles all the time. What’s not to smile about?!

P.S. Mom’s favorite picture is the one of the boys on the couch with the painting of her standing over them. Symbolism at its best.

Growing,
Bell

Life is just grand. Yes, there are times when Bell is screaming in the car and I want to jump out, but for the most part, we’re one big, wild, happy family. Lately we’ve been doing a lot of fun stuff. The weather in October is the best in the Bay Area, and we’ve been taking full advantage.

We’ve also been having fun indoors. Bell is getting to be a pretty cool gal, and we are really starting to make her smile. She LOVES when I make faces at her. Especially in the bath.

And there’s more fun to come – Halloween is around the corner (and we won’t stop talking about it!).

Peace out,
Quinn

Our parents are checking out a health club that has a pool, so we got to have some fun in the sun in September. While most kids are splashing around in the pool, Coop and I spent our time horsing around on the lawn chairs. Our swimming is getting better and better. We’ve been taking swim class with Ms. Kendra and she’s incredibly patient with me. Turns out I’m a real dare devil, and Cooper is Mr. Cautious. Surprise, Surprise, eh? We’ve been taking a private class together – the teacher thinks that boys’ competitive spirits will help push us both, but we’ll just have to see. Sometimes I’m too competitive for my own good.

Girgle girgle,
Quinn

Ok – mom’s been holding out on me. You see, there’s this thing called “food” that feels really funny in your mouth. I have been eating cereal for a little bit now (pic above), and I’m used to that, but some food has a taste to it! She tried to give me something called Avocado today, and I sure put on a show. The faces I made were ones I’ve never made before. Didn’t even know I *could* make them. So the road of food-eating human begins. Hopefully the tastes improve and I’m more successful down the road.

For now, I’ll keep my lips zipped.
Bell

Mom thinks she made a mistake by buying our costumes early, but we think it’s the greatest! She tells us that we are not allowed to change our minds by the time Halloween comes around, so to prevent that, she’s allowing us to wear our costumes one day until Halloween – and today is our big day! So, I was a Power Ranger and Quinn was a Transformer. We’ve never seen either show/movie, so we have no idea how to act, but the ‘rents say we’re doing a great job at it. We must be naturals.

Coop

I met my best friend today. Mom’s best friend/sister (”Uncle Jackie”) had a baby (Baby Terra) just 5 days before me and she came out with her mom and dad to meet the Carmichaels! My brothers love to kiss her feet and we just like to hang on the couch together. This is a funny story: my mom dressed me up in this cute little polo number because she knew her preppy best friend would love it. And out comes Baby Terra in the EXACT SAME OUTFIT! Boy, was mom ever right! So, even though my brothers are twins and have never worn a matching outfit in their lives, here we sat, dressed in the exact same dress.

Even though we look like we’re ready to hit the tennis courts in Greenwich, we sure do look cute. (Uh… except Baby Terra’s stretch face. As her best friend, I took it upon myself to tell her that she needs to ask for her privacy next time she needs to stretch. And for the love of God, don’t allow cameras to capture it! What’s next, a shot on the toilet?! She’s far too pretty to be caught making that face!)

What a fun summer we’ve had! Adding Bell to the mix of our household has been such a treat. She’s a full fledged member of our family now instead of just a crying machine in cute clothes. Quinn has mastered the ability to calm her cries, and Cooper loves to smother her in kisses and tolerates her constant hair grabbing. She loves nothing more than to be with her big brothers – it’s truly amazing how she smiles immediately when they walk in the room.

So… we’ve spoken before about my favorite thing to do – create. Whether it’s creating a costume, creating a drawing or creating a play, I’m all over it. I led my class in an effort to not only write the script for our own play, but also do the costume design and put the show on for our parents. I’m a bad knight who refuses to protect the princess because she dances, and I don’t dance because I’m just too busy. I lock her in the dungeon and the lions help her get out. Then they all teach me how to dance, and we live happily ever after.

Mom and I recently took a trip to Ohio. My mom’s uncle Dusty died unexpectedly at the age of 49, so even though it was a sad trip, we enjoyed the 1:1 time that we so rarely get. Mom was even looking forward to the flights because it meant we would be together – just she and I. We both missed my brothers (a lot!), and called them all the time, but they had a great time with daddy. It was also super fun to get to know some of my mom’s side of the family – especially my cousin Lyla! She’s 6 months older than me, so even my brothers haven’t met her yet. She’s so fun – and she’s got the best exersaucer in the world!

RIP (Great) Uncle Dusty.
Bellie

Friends, meet Estelle. She is Uncle Mitch and Aunt Erin’s new baby. She’s a month younger than me… and though I’ve got a month on her, she’s got some serious ROLLS on me! Though she won’t intimidate me – I went right after her!

Go on with your bad self, Estelle!

Grrrrr… Mom was so excited. She got some awesome shots of us out on the lawn on July 4th, and it wasn’t until later tonight when she went to look at the photos that were overexposed because Quinn had been shooting with the camera earlier in the day and messing with the buttons. BOO! Opportunity lost!

The good news is that we had an AWESOME day! We went to Moraga Commons tonight and watched fireworks with mom, dad, grammy and Bell. Fun times.

We had a quick, but fun visit with the Waller girls as they passed through town. They’re FUN – we hope to get more time with them next time they are in town.

Ok. I really might be the luckiest girl in the world. My brothers are the bomb. When I cry, Quinn is the first one to run up to me and try to shake something in my face as a distraction… and he says in his high voice, “hi belly hi belly hi belly!” The good news is that 90% of the time, that’s all I need to stop crying. And Cooper. Sweet Cooper. The boy loves to come up to me and kiss me. Doesn’t matter to me that he’s probably doing it because mom can’t stop “awwww”-ing when he does this.

Lucky me.

Mom and dad went away last night for mom’s 36th birthday. They went to Carmel. They took Bell since mom is still giving her “booby milk.” As part of her gift, daddy took his girls shopping, and it hit mom that she’s now got a built in shopping buddy. Oh boy…

My big brothers have been so nice to me… so welcoming. Quinn, from the start, has been bold and interested in holding me. Not a fear shown. Coop, on the other hand, has been generous with kisses, but NEVER shown interest in holding me. Well, tonight at Pasta Pomodoro, no less, we had a moment. We took a big step tonight in our relationship. He asked to hold me. I’m a happy girl.

We gotta give mom and dad some credit… We know how tired they are. That little lady doesn’t let them sleep well at night, and they STILL take us to the coolest places! Just a couple things we have done recently was a trip to the Lafayette Reservoir last weekend where we rented paddle boats and went out on the water. Sooo cool!

And this weekend, they took us to a place called Fairy Land. It’s in Oakland, and supposedly the place Walt Disney got his inspiration for Disneyland. It was super slow there today, so we got to ride the rides for a bunch of times with no lines. In fact, we rode a small caged ferris wheel for (literally) 30 minutes. Just the two of us. Every once in a while, the technician would have to stop it to let someone else on, but we just kept going and going while mom and dad pushed Bell around in the stroller.

So, props again to mom and dad for keeping us entertained!