Superhuman Letters spell Kai and Nadia… some fun in the leaves

KAI

NADIA

Muraco Multicultural Fair…. Nadia performs the hen and the rooster

…mostly w older 4th and 5th graders :)

she was nervous to go up on stage but pulled through as you can see

Buddhist Temple, Jeju

wanted to post a movie of Nadia hanging out outside the Sanbang San buddhist temple. The sun is setting and the monks are chanting. very peaceful scene...

Dongtan skating scene

Nadia prefers the inline skates (which is by far most popular with all the Koreans), while is more into his skateboard… There's a tricks park around, but so far we're staying safe :)

(movies by godfather dani)

At home in Korea

…trying to use the blog again, while in Korea. :) We're all getting settled here in Dongtan, south of Seoul.

Dongtan is an interesting "new city" that was pre-planned with lots of high-rise residential buildings (some 66 stories high!) around a large central park, which has lots of great activities for kids…

http://dongtan.lh.or.kr/dongtan_2/

Also, will keep posting photos here:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/napadow/sets/72157645053882803/

man vs snowman

great weekend back with the twins. snow on the ground; a chill in the air. we went into the Fells and Nadia built a snowman perfect for destruction (as Kai noted). He took a few runs at it before we were able to collapse the beast…

Twins versus Pianos

Kai and Nadia begin their soon to be illustrious musical careers tickling the ivories... black keys too...

Kai behind the wheel

a scary thought.... Thanks to Kim and Brian in Asheville for giving us a peek into the future. Kai and Nadia went on a joyride in Aidan's Jeep. Not sure what the disclaimers are on these things, but within a half hour time span, they managed to flip the Jeep over, run over one another, and.... have maybe the most fun i've ever seen them have. Luckily no lasting damage and they were having too much fun to cry when anything did happen... funny how that works.

I should note that Nadia really got the hang of it by the end and managed to steer the Jeep back into the garage (with some push-help from papa).

A busy cello weekend...

A fun-filled weekend in Boston. Saturday we went to Spectacle island - one of the Boston Harbor islands. The twins just loved the ferry ride! and it was a truly gorgeous, cool day to roam around the island and get 360deg views of Boston and the harbor. Highly recommended...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spectacle_Island_(Massachusetts)

We also enjoyed a brunch and lunch and with friends on Sunday... and squeezed in a few hours at the South End open studies, hanging out with Seesa and Sophie, running the halls between the galleries :^) and enjoying this amazing refurbished cello, over 300 years old from Italia...

... and yes, i'm going to try and post more often on here if i can keep finding the time :^)

Twins turn 4 - no stopping them now!

Thanks so much to Sisa for editing this birthday video from the Twins' 4th....

Spring has sprung!

It's been a rollicking 2010 so far... lots of house remodeling to keep us all busy. Kai and Nadia have been talking more and more and cant wait to move into the new digs...

Expansion

As of December 30, 2009, the solstice twins have a new abode to call their own. We wont be moving for a little while, but the new place promises to have more indoor and outdoor room for them run around in, laugh, cry, and even guffaw loudly if they so choose... It's also about 150feet from a trailhead onto a 2500 acre conservation park called the Middlesex Fells. More photos can be found here. Very exciting. Given the house exterior, we're considering renaming them Hansel and Gretel...

Rollin Rhymes

While language continues to be a problem for the multi-lingual Solstice Twins, Kai did manage to say his first completely tri-lingual sentance:

"Mira this mashina", or "look at this car" in full-blown English.

Nadia's sentences are more focused on nina's (girls, like her floppy doll Fafee) and babies (like her Caroline).

Another Exciting Vaca in PTown

The kids were a year older, a year more observant, and had a great time in water, on the sand, and all around. Thanks to all those who came to visit: Rachelle and John, Kyungmo, Yumi, and Luis Javier. You can check out all the great photos here... What was number one on teh fun list for the twins? the sand castles? the kite flying? the crab hunting at low tide?? Carnival in Ptown featuring drag queen bingo? no.... it was the Murphy bed in our studio timeshare condo....

Happy Birthday Solsticetwins

Happy birthday to Kai and Nadia. The solsticetwins turned 2 years old on June 21st. Mom made a glorious cake and the candles almost got lit in the wind... all in all a great time.

Cornell Reunion

15 year Reunion. Feels like a long time for sure... We drove up to Ithaca - it was about 6 hours or so of driving. Got to stay with Anika, who was hosting. Rachelle and John were there too. All in all a really fun time visiting the old place, Ithaca Farmers Market, etc. Here's a few pics, more on the link to the upper left....

Kite Festival at Revere Beach

It was Diana's b-day on May 31 so we took the kids to the Kite Festival in Revere. We got the kite up in the air, but otherwise a bit lack-luster. I was expecting more kites maybe... but here's Nadia shaking her booty to the DJ...

Fun things happen in Yosemite

We just got back from a week in Yosemite, visiting "el padrino," tio Todd, and his cat Angus. We had a marvelous time exploring the park and enjoying the local flavor. There were roaring waterfalls, bright green meadows, and ginormous trees for the twins to grapple with. All in all, their favorite part though was outdoor baths most morning on tio Todd's front porch, in a Home Depot bucket...


nadia takes a bucket bath


tunnel view. you can see bridalveil falls on right, half dome in center, el capitan on left...


Kai doing his best hobbit impersonation

The playground scene

The solstice twins are getting really into the whole playground scene. The conquer the 5 years and up slides with ease. We have a playground at the local K-8 school and are using it more and more as the weather gets nicer....

Bye bye Winter

Just realized we had no snow pics form this winter! That cant be...

Winter doldrums

It's getting to be that time of year now. Getting sick of the cold. The gray. The wintry mixes that keep coming up. Kai and Nadia are gettin by just fine - just more indoor time. They're growing up fast...sleeping better now... down to one nap a day. They're staring to play with each other really well (sometimes). And occasionally offer each some food - dont believe me? D. Chavez got this great shot of Kai helping Nadia break the record for most grapes stuffed into one mouth by a 1.5 year old:

Back from Colombia

1Year - 1.5Year Slideshow

...to get some action on this blog

Halloweens

For those of you waiting on Halloween pics, we have Kai the Pirate and Nadia the floating fairy. Very successful trick-or-treat. We did the Beacon Hill circuit, which was fabulous as usual. Kerry is up for re-election and came out to make an appearance. Theresa Heinz (his wife, for political neophytes) gave Kai a snickers and milky way, which was a bit perplexing to him, as pirates typically go for the 3 musketeers... they share swashbuckling tendencies...

the Emotions of Nadia

Nadia runs through her repertoire... all within a few minutes...

... Happy ...


... Concern ...

... Anger ...

Movies from the Cape

Now that summer is over, what better way to re-live it than to watch the twins cavorting on the beach in Provincetown...

P-Town Carnival

Wild wild, wild wild West! This year's theme for carnival on the cape... trannies are an acquired taste - Kai and Nadia were not quite sure what to make of it all, but, hey when in Rome...

Cape Cod Revelry

Two weeks on the cape. the sun. the sand. the crabs and fishies in the water at low tide... Kai and Nadia loved every second... and we got to welcome Ana Maria (Cata's older sister), who's with us 'til January!

Solstice Twins - in - a - box

... it's rare to get a good photo of the two of them together...

Birthday Bash: YAY!

Of course, a birthday party on the solstice brought much cheer to Kai and Nadia. They got to eat cake, shmooze with their friends, blow out candles, and open presents (thanks to everyone for keeping the toy avalanche down).

Naming Ceremony

Time flies. To honor the twins first ever birthday, we brought together family and friends for an official naming ceremony. Dani led the occasion in his own special way, regaling us with stories and lessons from Torah. It was a truly special day, as Kai Israel and Nadia Paulina accepted their names... Thanks to everyone who could make it.

Part of the naming ceremony included a "predetermination" ritual, where Kai and Nadia would let "fate" decide their future path in life. Like the infant dalai lama, who is discovered by the objects he chooses from those splayed out in front of him, the twins got to choose their future careers - Kai went with the calculator (science-geek) and compass (explorer); Nadia with the thimble (seamstress) and pocket-watch (track coach?)

First time Swingin' - The Movie

Nadia Laughs and The World Laughs with Her

Sometimes all it takes is a hiccup or two to set her off. I wonder why she doesn't laugh when she hiccups herself, though... the mystery of it all...

Kai Conquers the Stairs

Breaking a world record for 8month olds, Kai conquers the staircase in less than a minute. Just to show off, he does it dragging papa's slipper up with him...

Snow hike in the Fells

There's no better way to enjoy the snow than a hike in the Fells - a huge forest of conservation land just north of Boston. Of course Kai loved it, and was growling and kicking his feet out the entire hike. Nadia also seemed to enjoy it, in her own more low key style.

Let it snow.... let it snow, let it snow

Well, we got 12 inches and Catalina finally had her New England snow storm. We went up on the roof deck, made a snowman, had a snowball fight, and made snow angels.

The Year of the Rat

Emperor Kai and Empress Nadia were in fine spirits bringing in the new year. Out with the pig, in with the rat! We made Jiaozi dumplings and enjoyed the company of friends and eunuchs in our Palatial little loft. Diana's cousin Catalina came back with Diana from Bogotá, and will be staying with us until July. It takes a village.

We Eat Blueberries!

Nothing like some blue blue blueberries to smear across your face... The twins have been digging in with gusto. Just a sampling: bananas, papayas, apples, pears, avocados, rice cereal, sweet potato, melon, butternut squash, yoghurt, and of course Cheerios.

peas, not so much.

Twins Recharge in Colombia

We've passed the 1/2 year mark and everyone is doing so so much better... the 1st 3 months are a distant memory thankfully and parenting has gotten much more rewarding for sure. The twins are currently in Colombia and surrounded by open arms everywhere they go. It takes a village, and ours happens to be scattered around the globe.

Kai and Nadia did great on the flight down to Bogotá and have had no problems with the altitude (over 8000') or different water quality or anything. Kai is now scooting/crawling and Nadia is sitting up steady, and smiling almost non-stop. They're both eating mushed up bananas, papayas and grain cereal.

For some great photos, see the Flikr slideshow.

Happy Happy Joy Joy

Nadia has been in a good mood recently. Probably something to do with her recent ability to sleep from 8pm to as late as 7am some nights. This of course puts us into a better mood as well... however, there is the issue of the weakest link, and in this case, well, i'm sure Kai will need some more sleep one of these days... Here's Nadia standing tall on Sylvia and Dominic's kitchen table. Photo credits as usual to Dominic...

Thanksgiving in Baltimore

Kai and Nadia had their first flight... to Baltimore of all places. Their grandparents Nina and Joe took them in, gave em a proper place to sleep and everything. Even appropriated some recycled wheels for their daily walk (see right). We all had a great time and the twins got to meet their cousins, aunts, uncles, and the whole extended Russian family (thats Kai with cousin Dania below) ... a new face every day. how exciting. The flight back left much to be desired though, as weather and airplane problems left us grounded in the airport for over 5 hours waiting to take off. Luckily we were stocked with diapers and of course the food comes free...

Aarrrrrrr....

It's tough being a pirate. Sail the seven seas, surrounded by roughians and rathscallians, looting merchant vessels armed to the teeth... so little time to just chill out. Cap'n Kai has seen enough. Spent Thanksgiving in Huff.

...just wait 'til next year when he's knockin on all the doors, getting his own candy.