March 2013
We have started referring to John, Larkin, and Reagan as “the adorables” after cousin Ann Marie wrote Dan an email, affectionately describing them as so. We find it quite fitting and cute given their loving nature to one another.
March started off the travel season for the O’Brien-Kindem families. Hap & Nan kicked the month off by meeting Pete & Sase and family at the lake cabin with John and Larkin. All members went to Beach Mountain Resort to do some skiing and sledding. John and Larkin enjoyed the snow, but Larkin kept saying, “cold feet” because her boots and socks were not warm enough for her. Unfortunately, Larkin seems to have her dad’s sensitive feet, poor thing. Their favorite part might have been taking life easy inside the ski lodge, all warm and cozy. Paul stayed home with Reagan and got some much needed one-on-one time with his special girl. Reagan was especially helpful when it came to selecting which photos were going to make the stairwell.
Hap & Nan then took a five day trip to NYC, where they spent their time visiting museums, going to Broadway shows, eating fantastic food, and going to some of Jamie’s favorite places. The weather was a little chilly, but it was a very enjoyable trip for them.
Dan & Maureen made a nice trip to Philadelphia to visit Doug, Vanessa (& baby O’Brien in utero), and Friends. They made a couple trips to Ikea, took Doug and Nessa out for some nice dinners & delivered lots of clothes and baby gear for baby O’Brien (yes, Paul is trying to de-clutter the house as much as possible).
The families had a nice Easter Sunday together, which consisted of going to church, having an Easter egg hunt in the backyard, and spending most of the day playing outside in the beautiful, warm weather. The adults were even able to sit down to a quiet (very rare) family lunch during the kids’ nap time. John and Larkin loved dying their eggs and of course, the Easter egg hunt itself. They ran all around the yard trying to spot the eggs before the other could. At one point, both John and Larkin spotted an egg in the fire pit at the same time and both immediately went after it. John got there first and after picking it up, holding it up high with the biggest smile on his face, and putting it into his basket, Larkin immediately stole it from him and put it into her own basket, then turned to walk away. John started pointing at her and crying. I actually captured this entire event on camera and have to say it is pretty funny to flip through the shots and watch as the event unfolds. Oh, the joys of twins! There were, of course, some casualties which Nan turned into delicious deviled eggs. Spring is in the air and we are very thankful for that, at least until the pollen shows up.
Kathryn decided to give all of us a scare during the month when she suffered from extreme stomach pains, which turned out to be appendicitis. Fortunately, this happened a week before her trip to Europe with Maureen. The surgery went well and she has pretty much fully recovered. She’s thankful to have that over with. Ever since the surgery John and Larkin have been asking about Ki’s tummy and want to see her scars. They are very concerned and it really is quite sweet.
Reagan is on the verge of crawling and I fully expect to report in the April that she is crawling and standing up with support. John and Larkin are extremely talkative and are known as “local celebrities” at their daycare. At least that’s how one of the staff members described them to Paul recently.