Trimming the Tree

Trimming the Tree from Robert Kerner on Vimeo.

We set up the tree yesterday while the kids were taking their afternoon nap. We struggled with the decision whether to use our artificial tree or get a small live tree and put it outside on our back porch. We were concerned that Robert and Samantha would want to rip the ornaments off if the tree was in the living room. In the end, we really wanted them to see the ornaments and begin to understand the Christmas experience, so we decided on the in-living room option.

The tree went up in just under two hours and the action is compressed down to just over three minutes in this film. So far the child safety fence, which you see Donna fussing with for the first few minutes, is doing its job. We tried to sit the kids in front of the tree this morning for pictures for our holiday cards but they would have none of that!

Samantha looked out the window this morning, saw all the snow and declared "Uh oh!" We agree.

Have a Merry Christmas,

Bob & Donna

Stop Motion Living Room

Stop Motion Living Room from Robert Kerner on Vimeo.

Here's a  short stop-motion film we made in the living room yesterday since it was raining cats & dogs and we couldn't go out. This is the same type of filming used in clay-mation movies.

We continue to be astonished by their development. Robert is learning to be helpful. The other day, Bob was looking for some missing bottles and Robert got on his hands and knees and looked under the couch and television stand. When he found the first bottle, he stood up and pointed to it. He did the same for the second. He's also very good at finding lost shoes.

Sammy, on the other hand, is learning to be mischievous. She now can run and hide from us when she wants to. The other nights she systematically threw most of her toys over one of the safety fences we have in the living room. When Bob asked her (not expecting a response) to "put that stuff back," she went to the other side of the fence and proceeded to throw it all back to the other side.

We're spending the weekend analyzing whether it's safe to have a Christmas tree in the living room

The Little Businessman

Here's Robert at day care earlier this week. We think he looks like a little businessman in his sweater.

The last month -their 18th month -  has been rough. Both got sick shortly after returning to day care, culminating in several trips to the doctor, ER and urgent care center. Now that everyone in the family is on antibiotics, life is good. It's simply amazing to participate in their development. They seem so much more mature than just a few months ago. They can make their needs known beyond just crying. Both ask for things by name. Robert can wipe his nose and deposit the tissue in the trash. Both understand the concept of taking a bath or shower and going to bed; if you ask them, they will start upstairs toward the tub or bedroom. 

Now if we can just get the little businessman a job!

Toileting

We are introducing the concept of toileting to our kids. When it's time for a diaper change, we ask "Who needs to use the toilet?" and escort them to the bathroom. The ritual is pretty straightforward: we have a changing cushion on the floor and then have them step onto a small step stool to wash their hands in the sink. Sometimes they even flush the toilet.

This afternoon, Bob was home with the twins since it was "staff development day" at the daycare center; in other words, the center  was closed for Election Day. Bob was doing chores when he realized it was very quiet in the living room. Quiet isn't usually a good sign. When he went to investigate, he found Robert sitting in front of the t.v. but no Sammy.

No Sammy in the living room. No Sammy in the dining room. No Sammy in the kitchen either. Only one room left, the bathroom. And there she was, sitting quietly in the sink, inspecting the items that are normally out of her view.

Unfortunately, she skipped the diaper step and went directly to the hand washing step.

Doodle Doo's

Robert's First Haircut from Robert Kerner on Vimeo.

Robert had his first haircut back in September. We took him to Doodle Doo's, a children's hair salon in lower Manhattan that Bob found one day while on walk-about. There are plenty of places to buy a kid's haircut, but this one caught our attention because it is run by a former teacher and they have plenty of staff to distract nervous kids. They also have a section of the store set aside with books and games. It's not just a haircut, it's an experience!

It turns out Robert didn't care much for the experience. Not that the staff didn't go out of their way to make it nice; he was just intimidated by the scissors and new faces. They did a fine job cutting his hair. It turns out that Sammy had more fun running around the shop, playing with the toys. She'll have to wait for another day for her haircut.

After the experience, we walked around the west village and then over to one of the piers on the Hudson before storm clouds forced us back to the car. 

It took so long to get around to editing the video that it's time for a haircut again!

Catching Up

It's a miserable, rainy Sunday here in New York. A perfect opportunity to get everyone caught up on Kerner Kids happenings. 

Sam and Robert have been back in daycare since shortly after Labor Day. Of course, they promptly developed coughs and runny noses. They are both great climbers and can navigate their way onto the top of the dining room table with little effort if you leave them unattended for even 2 minutes.

Nana and Pop-Pop paid a visit in August.

Robert has been busy learning new things, such as how to brush teeth

and print his own Q-tips

I left the red-eye in the picture because it is consistent with him being a little devil.

Sammy and Donna went shopping

We visited some parks

Went shopping some more

They particularly like riding in the shopping carts!

We spent some time in quiet contemplation

And played with the new collapsible tunnel

You can see we had a very busy month.

Cheers.

Long Way To Daycare

Donna has been out of town this week, taking her final course for her DNP degree in sunny Cleveland and, as such, Bob's been a stay-at-home dad. In our free time (there isn't much!), we've been trying to watch the wonderful "Long Way Down" series on DVD. It chronicles the motor-bike journey of Ewan McGregor (Star Wars) and his buddy Charley Boorman from Scotland to Africa. They have amazing chemistry, having done this once before in "Long Way Round." If you like road trip movies, these are worth getting.

Ever since seeing "Long Way Round," we've thought about trying to make our own version with the kids. This week presented the perfect opportunity to take a whimsical look at the trip to daycare. Enjoy.

By the way, it's a little longer, at 18 minutes, than what we usually post so you may want to get a beverage and snack.

Long Way to Daycare from Robert Kerner on Vimeo.

The First Big Hurt

It had to happen some time to one of them: the first "big hurt" of childhood. The image is of Sammy in the emergency department about 25 minutes after getting her upper lip sutured earlier this morning. She's doing fine now but, understandably, very tired.

Isaac Newton said "a body in motion tends to remain in motion unless acted upon..." by the upper lip. She fell while running across a part of the home she's been in daily since she could walk. Except last night she stopped herself with her face. It looks almost inconsequential until you notice it crosses from the face onto the lip itself. So we got to meet the friendly plastic surgeon.

As a parent, you know someone is going to get hurt sooner or later. But you expect (at least we did) that it would be something dramatic like getting hit with your first baseball or falling in the park, not a measly fall in the kitchen. 

Basket Cases

Robert and Samantha are complete basket cases! Here they are from earlier in the month sharing the toy basket and watching television. Very often they sit separately, in their own basket.

What is it about wicker baskets? They also have an affinity for our table linen basket, a round basket of approximately 2.5 feet tall. They love to topple it over, and roll it around. Sometimes they just crawl inside. This evening we watched in awe as they learned how to topple it and pick it up by its ends (top and bottom) and carry it around the dining room. 

To watch them work is like watching an army of ants. For tiny infants, they are capable of amazing tasks, lifting and moving heavy objects. Samantha likes to pull the parrot's cage around with Robert hanging off the side!

We watch in wonder of their accomplishments.

A Blast From The Past

One of the challenges parents face is keeping up with hundreds of pictures of their kids. We're no different. We try our best to share the best images and videos electronically through email or this blog but, every so often, something falls through the cracks. The film below is a good example.

"Grandparents Visit 2008" was filmed when the children were just a couple of months old. This was their first time seeing Nana and Pop Pop (Ron & Barbara), during their visit to New York for their 50th anniversary celebration. The film sat around for a long time in an unused camera. A year has passed and it's time to take a look.

It's amazing to compare this footage, where they are so tiny and helpless, to the footage in the preceding post. Enjoy.

Grandparents Visit 2008 from Robert Kerner on Vimeo.

Our Afternoons

The Walk Out from Robert Kerner on Vimeo.

This film represents our typical afternoon pickup at daycare. The kids have been able to walk out of daycare under their own power for the last few weeks, though not every daycare worker lets them. We let the twins run around in the building atrium for a few minutes before loading them into the stroller for the ride home. Every kid in the center seems attracted to the big green lamp post.

Robert and Samantha have been walking now for quite some time, but this is the first film where you see them both walking together. Sam is actually very good at going up steps, probably due to the fact that she's a little taller than 1-minute older brother Robert.

If you wish to see a larger version of any film on this blog, you can click on the the name of the film under the viewing window and it will take you directly to Vimeo.

Enjoy.

First Assistant Camerman

As you may know if you follow this blog, Bob's interests have evolved from photography into videography. He produces the short films you see on this page. He recently completed fabrication of a dolly, which is used to produce smooth motion shots when following moving subjects. Robert, as you can see from the picture, developed an immediate fondness for the new contraption.

In other news, Robert and Samantha are running all around and have begun exploring the stairs. Sammy can make it to the second floor without assistance but with supervision, of course. This morning they were introduced to that all-American breakfast: pancakes at IHOP.

That's it for now. Robert wants to make a film.

Swinging At The Park

Robert is walking around now! He particularly likes climbing over things and can overcome the containment barriers we set up in the living room. Sammy prefers the stairs when she can get to them.

We went to our favorite park a couple of weekends ago to play on the swings. Enjoy.

Swing from Robert Kerner on Vimeo.

Today is Mother's Day

One year ago today our beautiful children entered this world. They have no understanding of age or the custom of celebrating a birthday. They spent their day at daycare with wonderful and caring people while we went to work and school. Perhaps we will celebrate with them later this evening or tomorrow.

A more fitting celebration-it seems- would be to give thanks for Donna. This is her mother's day, the day she brought Samantha and Robert into our lives. The national mother's day may not be for several days, but I'm celebrating it tonight.

Thank you, Donna, for being a spectacular mom. The picture above is from our first journey out of the house with the newborns in June.

Happy Mother's Day.

Bob

Walking

It's spring time and it's time to walk. The children began taking their first tentative steps a couple of weeks ago. Samantha waited for guests on Easter to demonstrate that she can walk across the living room; however, we did not capture it on video. By the Wednesday after Easter, she was walking around the room. Now she walks while carrying her toys. Quite a progression.

Robert is content to sit and watch, though we know he can walk too.

We noticed in the early stages of her experimenting (all of three weeks ago) Samantha would flap one of her hands as she walked. It reminded us of a helicopter's tail rotor used for stabilization. So here it is, the first footage of her walking. Be patient. The first few seconds start with a black screen and music.

Sam Can Walk from Robert Kerner on Vimeo.

Spring Update

We let this blog sit dormant for almost a year. We created it as a test but never shared it with our friends and family, choosing instead to share videos from our Vimeo page (http://www.vimeo.com/user945897/videos). It turns out somtimes it's easier to type a few words than to create a short movie; therefore, we'll try to keep everyone up-to-date via this blog.

We celebrated Easter with Jane, Don and James. This video nicely summarizes the festivities.

Easter 2009 from Robert Kerner on Vimeo.

Samantha took her first few independent steps a couple of days before Easter but we did not manage to capture much on video. The next post will feature her walking in the living room.