Luke & Clare hit the 11 month mark on the 19th of June...
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| 1 more month to 1...wearing their 'my dads rule' (we tend to agree!) shirts |
As we celebrated our first Father's Day, it was crazy to reflect on how much has happened to us in the last 12 months. One year ago right now Chris and I were only a week away from departing for Asia and the adventure (of a lifetime) we would encounter over the course of the 7 weeks that followed. While we don't look back upon that trip as a 'vacation' it does represent the last time we traveled anywhere (not withstanding a couple of trips to Eureka, IL, and Whitewater, WI, of course!). Fortunately for us, some wonderful people stepped up to take care of Clare & Luke at the end of May, allowing us time to take a much needed holiday away from life in Chicago. As we found out during (we 'facetimed' a few times with the twins) and after (from the abundance of photos we received), the kids did just fine without us!
So, while the twins dads went exploring Istanbul...
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| Blue skies and the Blue Mosque |
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| View from the Galata Bridge on the Golden Horn |
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| Visiting Asian Istanbul and having a look out to the Black Sea |
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| Papa Posing with his recent purchase from the Grand Bazaar |
...and the major sites of Paris...
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| Papa points towards the Eiffel Tower; Dads dash down the Champs Elysees to the Arc de Triomphe; Notre Dame Daddy |
...including a couple of days at Roland Garros for the French Open,...
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| French faux photo backdrop |
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| Federer was flawless this day |
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| Stalking the Swiss Miss former phenom now doubles star Martina Hingis |
...the twins were under the excellent care of both sets of their grandparents and family friend Aunt Ro.
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| Not looking like they were missing us too much!! |
First up for the 'twinswatch' was Grandma Steffie and Grandpa Dan. They arrived the night before the dads took off for Turkey.
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| Why don't they play this well when we're around?!? |
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| Luke bonded with Grandpa Dan |
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| The twins even enjoyed some wagon time... |
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| ...and their first ever Merry-Go-Round! |
The middle shift went to Aunt Rochelle (with assistance from Uncle Christian and Aunt Amy, of course).
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| Yay! 3 days with Aunt Ro! |
Aunt Ro made sure the twins were well-dressed,
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| Blackhawks Wear, Day 1 |
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| Blackhawks Wear, Day 2 |
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| Maybe wearing Blackhawks Wear to bed?!? Or celebrating a big win by jumping in the crib?? |
well fed,
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| Maybe this should be above under well-dressed?? |
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Cute bibs from their Great Uncle Teats and Great
Aunt Tricia, but maybe they aren't country music fans?? |
and well-traveled.
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| First Andersonville farmers market of the year...look at the happy boy in the back!! |
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| Clare donned a suitable hat to match her brother's headgear |
There also seemed to be time for a photo shoot for Ms. Clare.
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| Such a little poser! |
There were no glamour shots for Luke, but he was still represented.
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| This handsome little dude nailed it on his first try! |
Grandpa and Grandma Knapp took the final shift. Sadly, their twinsitting duties coincided with the time when it rained the ENTIRE weekend.
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| They might have been shut in, but everyone had a great time! |
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| Look at Grandpa getting all photogenic with his grandchildren!! |
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Luke thought he had the perfect hiding
spot, but Grandpa found him!! |
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| Clearly Clare wants to come with next time |
A special thank you once again to Grandpa Dan, Grandma Steffie, Aunt Rochelle, Grandpa Knapp, and Grandma Knapp for all of their help with the twins. The twins obviously had a great time and so did two dads!
