Biren and Kristen's Universe

It's been a few weeks since I've posted anything! Not even because I've been too busy... There just hasn't been much going on worthy of talking about. It's been pretty low key for the past few weeks. The girls are certainly getting smarter and funnier by the day (as evidenced by the latest batch of photos)... I would have to write a novel if I were to sit down and right every little funny thing they did... I'll let the photos give you a small idea of what they've been up to.

We've been rotating through a little sickness as well. First Kris was sick for a few days, then I got a little sick... and now it's been the girls for the past few days, although they're mostly over it. None of us ever really got a fever or anything, just a cold. The runny noses, as usual, have been annoying to deal with given the high grossness factor. They should be over them fully in another day or two, I would think.

Not many fun stories to recount for this post, but I will tell you that recently Kris let the girls finger paint for the first time, which was interesting. The girls had fun with it and created a masterpiece That's about it for now, but enjoy the photos at the link below. Also, here's a quick video of Karina making this weird high pitched noise. She thought it was hilarious that she could make that noise. Also, that is definitely Karina making the noise, even when it sounds like something or someone else might be.

Karina's a Banshee

[Weeks 111-113 Photos]

Not really much to talk about this week... Only reason I'm even posting is because I have a new video to post... but before I get to that, I will mention that Kristen's good friend Mary visited today with her son Ian. Last time I saw Ian, he was so little... he had just been born not too long before. Now he's almost a year old and so much bigger! Mary was wondering whether he'd venture from her side and play with the girls, and he absolutely did. The girls really had a great time playing with him.

Yesterday, Kris had the brilliant idea to setup the ball pit in front of the slide, so when the girls go down the slide, they fly through the doors and into a pile of balls. The girls had a blast doing that and probably were at it for a good hour! Some of the footage below...

Slide + Ball Pit

[Week 110 Photos]

Happy New Year everybody! Hope everyone had an enjoyable new years! We certainly did! Thursday evening, I took the girls over to Grammy and Papa's house for the night. Then, we went out to dinner with Jen & Steve and Jen's brother Stephen. After our very delicious dinner, the five of us came back to our house where a few more friends eventually met us. We played some games, chatted away, and rang in the new year together. All in all, it was a very nice evening with friends.

The next morning Kris picked up the girls from Grammy and Papa's and brought them home. The girls had a great time at their sleepover. We had gotten some snow on Thursday, and then more yesterday and today. So we didn't really get out to do much over this long weekend, but we DID get outside to play in the snow today. Kath did much better this time. I pulled them both around on the sled for a bit, we made and threw snowballs... and Kris and I even had some fun on the sled ourselves as we slid down our hilly yard a few times. The girls seemed to enjoy watching us whiz by them on the slide more than riding on it!

Earlier in the week Kris and Grammy took the girls to Rainforest Cafe for lunch, since Grammy was on vacation this week. The girls really love the "animals" there and the rainstorms. Not much else to report on... Karina can now sing Itsy Bitsy Spider all the way through, by herself which is kinda neat. We let the girls play with Playdoh a few times this past week for the first time. They liked that, except they kept trying to eat it, which was not good. It was new to them, so can't blame them too much. They're getting better with it, and like it when we make things for them out of the Playdoh.

[Week 109 Photos]

Hope everyone's holidays were as fun as ours was! Although this was technically the girls' third Christmas, this was the first year that they really got to experience the holiday. They were very excited about Santa Claus and all their presents. We walked the girls down Christmas morning, right to their presents, skipping breakfast. They loved their stockings stuffed with goodies, and all the presents that were now around the tree waiting to be opened. As one might imagine, the girls really cleaned up and scored big time this Christmas. They've been playing with all their new toys non-stop! It was really fun for Kris and I to experience Christmas with the girls like this, and we can't wait to do it all over again next year!

Stepping back a day... on Christmas Eve, it has been a Marino family tradition for many many many years to get everyone together for lots of food and fun. We headed to Grammy and Papa's house first for a little bit, before heading over to Auntie Ellie and Uncle Larry's place for the big party. Every year, one of Kris' cousins dresses up as Santa and gives out presents to all the kids that go. Last year was nice, but this year the girls are older and know what's going on, so we couldn't wait for Santa. All in all, it went great, and Karina especially was very thrilled to see Santa. The girls enjoyed their gifts, and had a great time playing with all the other kids.

The next day, on Christmas, we of course went through the gift opening as described above, but after that we fed the girls some breakfast and then headed over to Grammy and Papa's to spend the day with them. Uncle Dave and Auntie Leah were there during for a few hours as well, before having to leave to spend some time with Leah's family. The girls got to open even more presents, and had lots of fun playing with their various new toys there. It was a long day for the girls, as they went without a nap, but they did great!

Later that night, after we got home from Grammy and Papa's, my brother arrived. He drove up from NY. He had flown in from CA earlier in the week. We hadn't seen Niral since August since he lives out west. Niral was with us from that night all the way til this morning. It was really great seeing him and hanging out with him for the whole weekend. Saturday morning, we opened all the gifts that he and Auntie Liz brought for the girls. The girls had a great time with Uncle Niral. Unfortunately, Auntie Liz couldn't come to visit (she was with her family) and neither could Dada (he had to work). Dada, of course, did send over gifts with Uncle Niral. We missed both of them...


Well, that's about it for now. It was a long but fantastic four days of fun and excitement. It went by all too fast, but that's how it goes when you're having fun. Have a great new year everyone, and catch you in 2010!

[Week 108 Photos]
[Christmas Eve Photos]
[Christmas Day Photos]