The Babies B

July-2010

2011-04-16T16:52:00.001-04:00

I am not sure what happened to June, but I have a feeling some of these pictures were from June and just didn't get downloaded until I was in July. These first pictures are from Chickie's house for Memorial Day weekend, so I think that's actually the end of May, right?

Chilling with Baba in our backyard

at the Aquarium

These are from the harbor, behind the Aquarium

Finally seeing the benefits of the big dig, this is a new fountain where the expressway used to be

A visit with Amy and Bernadette and all of our kids

Iman and Tayeb enjoying the swing on the front porch of Juliana's playhouse

Iman and Grammy at Friendly's before Aunt Betty's funeral

Iman was pretty good at cheering up Grammy

Tayeb chilling on the couch

The kids playing with Henri at Sylvie's house

enjoying the sprinklers in our backyard

another trip to the children's museum

Another year visiting the zen garden in Provincetown

Iman hugging Buddha, or some other zen dude

fun with funhouse mirrors

May-2010

2011-04-16T15:40:00.000-04:00

So it is up for debate if I should skip to present day or try to catch up. I will again try to update from where I left off and if I fail I will skip ahead.

playing with hipstamatic camera setting on my phone

Tali's last day in the sun and on this earth

Some shots from the children's museum

Our newly landscaped yard with flowers thanks to pepere

March movies

2010-07-20T10:55:00.000-04:00

This is pretty much how all the races went, Sylvie first, Bibi second and Iman a distant third

So maybe it was a scream fest rather than giggle fest

March

2010-07-20T10:46:00.000-04:00

So here I am again realizing how forever behind I am in posting, it's July and I am showing pictures from March. I am going to try and focus on updating the blog and finishing photo book installment 12-18 months during naps this next week. Hopefully I will hold myself to that.

Here is Iman who put her bathing suit from Aunt Janet on all by herself, creative but not quite beach appropriate

The Babies B have starting using the potty, gross picture maybe, but if you are going to document the lives of toddlers, it's hard to leave out the whole potty thing. Both kids are pretty good once on the potty, we just have to work on increasing potty sessions to a few times a day and maybe diapers will become a thing of the past.

The kids lined up along the fence preparing to race, I want to say the yard is sloping in Sylvie's favor, but she does tower over my kids, I think it may be time for the stretching rack.

Iman in the coffee table

We took the kids on their first hike in the Blue Hills, they enjoyed walking on their own through the woods, we will have to go again now that nature is in full bloom.

A little impromptu ring around the Rosie

Amine tying Bibi's shoes before we head back

These next shots are all from Easter

The cousins in a giggle session

The kids' first Easter egg hunt

lesson learned to put snacks in every egg so as not to disappoint toddlers. Sylvie found the lion's share the first time around so I hid the eggs again later to give my kids another shot at finding some eggs. I somehow thought it was the thrill of finding them and not the snacks that motivated the search, wrong!

cheap thrills

2010-05-26T23:45:00.011-04:00

The Diapers.com box provided a lot of entertainment at our house, who needs toys when there's a big box lying around I always say. Sorry I couldn't choose just one clip, but I definitely narrowed it down, I think I had ten clips of them cracking themselves up.

Along the same lines of cracking each other up.... one of the things I love about twins is that they entertain each other. Lately, they seem addicted to laughing and love making each other and Amine and I laugh. Tayeb often says "more laughing" when we take a pause in tickling him or whatever we are doing to make him giggle. I know I am biased, but I swear these kids have the best laughs. Maybe every mother's favorite noise is the sound of her child laughing, I know I can't get enough of it....so much better than that whole crying thing.
Buyer beware, the following clips involve fun with food and all the gross outs that entails for toddlers.

February and Part of March

2010-05-26T23:25:00.000-04:00

Hello again blog, oh how I have neglected you. I am not sure if it's a product of being busy or the kids getting older, but there are less pictures taken and less of a scramble to get it all documented, still I will try to keep playing catch up and maybe someday I will again be blogging the relative present.

The Babies B enjoying the huge diapers.com box

Iman in the backyard when it still required hat and coat unlike our near ninety degree day today

No hat, but still coat... at least there's no snow on the ground

My favorite little man

These next pictures are from their second birthday party

Aunt Spice and Tonton Brooksie with the babes right before cake

Uncle Nick is a pretty good Benali Juggler, he's had some practice

Sylvie and Iman digging into Baba's cooking

nearly ninety-nine luft balloons and Bibi in what became known to him as the "baliloon castle", just like his Baba, he throws an extra syllable in for comedic effect

Homemade cake for birthday #2, a pretty weak quick depiction of George, but it tasted good, that's all that counts

I got this crazy bubble machine that the kids loved

Short and sweet, hopefully leaving out video will help me catch up... see you soon?!

She loves lemon

2010-03-17T12:22:00.004-04:00

Baby Henri

2010-03-16T15:18:00.000-04:00

Katie experienced a labor that was not shorter or easier than Sylvie's, after hours of pushing and waiting....

Baby Henri arrives, twenty minutes after I left the hospital. Katie's dad and my mom had perfect timing and both got to meet him right away.

Proud Papa

far far behind

2010-03-16T14:57:00.000-04:00

I am so far behind in posts I feel like I will never catch up, the blog has fallen far down on the list of things to do, my February post had Christmas and Sylvie's birthday. Now it's March and I am posting pictures from January, hopefully I will catch up even if it's just a blog blast of tons of pictures without a lot of ad lib from me.

What's up Tex?

Iman loves her Uncle Beau (formerly known as elbow), Sylvie has mixed feelings about their closeness

This kids enjoy their first trip in the snow in our backyard.

Bibi and Sylvie were pretty comfortable walking around and exploring, of course Iman took a while to warm up to the snow. I don't think I got any pictures of her because she refused to let me put her down on the snow.

Iman finally walks around with Katie holding her hand, hey I see Baby Henri peeking out of Katie's coat!

In another afternoon in the snowy yard, Iman borrows Mama's gloves

Bibi spots a plane in the sky

I guess the car is still fun when it's stuck in the snow

glamor shots

2010-02-06T23:18:00.000-05:00

The keeper photos from our Christmas card shoot

Sylvie's birthday and Christmas

2010-02-06T00:04:00.000-05:00

It's late tonight and for these pictures, but anyway here's Sylvie's second birthday party.

I think we did Christmas Eve at my house and Christmas day at Beau's and Katie's, but these may be from another random play date at my house. I love the Einstein hair that Sylvie and Iman are sporting in the car

Christmas Day... maybe. I at least have Iman in a festive dress which I rarely do, so it must have been Christmas.

pants on the ground... lookin' like a fool with your pants on the ground...

The cousins... chillin'

I am not sure but I think Iman may have a case of food coma here.

I repeat......pants on the ground... lookin' like a fool with your pants on the ground...

My dad has a ridiculous smile for the camera, but these family shots are few and far between.

Ephram

2010-01-09T00:31:00.004-05:00

I am skipping ahead to this week. I will go back and post about the Christmas visit with Memere and Pepere, but gmail wont let me send videos, so I here are very current videos from Ephram at our house today.

If you can get past my singing, these are pretty cute videos with Iman starting to dance with the songs and Ephram applauding my efforts and dancing a bit too.

Ephram just started walking a few weeks ago, and I wasn't sure if his mom had seen the beginnings of spinning, so I thought I would post this as well. He is learning very quickly.

I will post the pictures as well, but they will have to wait.

Paris flix

2010-01-07T21:35:00.004-05:00

Some long overdue videos from Paris.... I know I have mentioned this before, but I really am a terrible videographer, sideways again, will I ever learn?

Baby dance party at Hanane's apartment in Paris

Some of the window displays at the fancy department store

a cute splice of Paris with little French kid running by... not sure what he is saying

The Babies B seem to have this slide thing a little bass ackwards, or they just like to take everything to the next level.

a few tidbits from a carousel ride at the base of Sacre-Couer

Reviewing these videos tonight, I think the trip was worth all the travel trouble, but I stand by my statement to Amine on our Hellish overnight flight on the way there, I am not doing it again anytime soon.

Ahh Paris... I love Paris in the Fall

2009-12-11T12:54:00.000-05:00

Ok new editor strut your stuff, supposedly all the things that drive me crazy on blogspot are magically fixed in the new editor. If that is truly the case... we shall see... why the hell wouldn't they automatically update everyone or at least notify us that such a magical solution exists? Anyway, onto Paris, the kids were good little travelers and we arrived at Hanane's apartment only missing one of Iman's shoes, thankfully I packed another pair as Iman tends to take her shoes off.
Although the weather was chilly and damp we spent our days walking the kids around the sites of Paris. I thought we would be much more laid back and not see nearly what we did, but thanks to the double stroller the kids cruised the Champs Elysees, were strolled from there to the Eiffel Tower and had hands warmed by a lovely carousel while their parents ate "the best french fries in Paris" and a lovely Belgian waffle loaded with Nutella. Doesn't Nutella make everything better? They toured various car showrooms and visited a very beautiful science museum. They frequented many cafes, strolled through Notre Dame, ran around the playground at the base of Sacre Coeur and shopped till they dropped. Those babies had a busy few days in Paris and we have the pictures to prove it.

Children's Science Museum

Champs-Elysees

Renault Showroom

I am omitting the fifty pictures Amine took of me waiting in line for balloons with all the little kids, but as you can see from this shot, I was successful at acquiring said balloons

Arc de triomphe at Sunset

OK, so in Paris, Toyota has this most adorable car ever, which happens to be electric, available. I saw many on the streets of Paris to prove it. When will the U.S. get this little bundle of Joy?

Tour Eiffel

One minor accessibility issue with Paris, while the sidewalks and metro platform were very accessible, the only way to get to each platform seems to be four flights of stairs at every stop we encountered which is the other reason the kids were strolled for miles

The babes shopped till they dropped

Still dropped as we walk along the Seine

Still dropped as we reach the original Notre Dame

and awake strolling through the Latin Quarter

My postcard shot of the Seine

The Macy's of Paris

They have gorgeous window displays and whimsical animated ones to wow the kids (see videos)

The central atrium at Lafayette looks more like an opera house than a department store

The more we walked, the more we bought the kids to keep warm, here they are hugging their new bunnies, Bibi is still sporting his new hat (Iman protested the hat more-surprise), and snuggled in their new fuzzy sleeping bag stroller accessory. Finally, by our third day, we felt confident that we weren't going to have Benali popsicles by the day's end.

Getting dressed at Hanane's apartment

The courtyard of Hanane's apartment building- how beautiful is Paris?

The Carousel at the base of Sacre-Coeur

I am not sure, but I don't think this is how the slide is supposed to work

Pretty interesting "statue" person who sprung to life and danced a little jig while playing a flute, he was also very cute with the kids, but they were not impressed

Sacre-Coeur

The Babies B are waking up from their nap, so the videos will have to be yet another post.... until then Au Revoir.

Morocco- Sanae's house

2009-12-11T12:25:00.000-05:00

I thought that I didn't take any pictures in Morocco, I really only took pictures one afternoon at Sanae's house because we were outside and it was a nice sunny day and Paris was pretty dreary weather, but still when I uploaded and sorted through pictures this morning I have quite the list I will break this into several posts otherwise it will take a few days to compose.

We begin with a flip book of sorts of the Babies B on Sanae's swing.

Iman trying to either behead Garfield or figure out how to make him dance, you be the judge.

And a few pictures of the kids checking out the local flora and fauna

So that's all I have from Morocco, as usual I spent most of my time either stuffing my face or trying to escort the kids up and down the myriad of staircases. Iman was determined to master stairs on this trip and made sure she practiced again and again... and again. Frantic parents lead to lack of photos, but by the end Iman could almost be trusted to safely navigate a flight of stairs on her own.

Our visit was mainly time visiting family, we only went to the souk in Casablanca on the day we left, otherwise all of our time was with family. This was also our shortest trip to Morocco, we were only there for a week. Everyone says it gets easier, but so far it seems each trip gets more difficult, the babies were troopers during the plane travels, but sleeping in Oujda was a bit of a nightmare for me and the kids.

and the rest of November

2009-12-10T12:47:00.007-05:00

I am feeling behind in blogging, here is the lump of the rest of November before I jump into our trip to Morocco and Paris. Here is a collection of some pictures from our last few warm fall days in the backyard.

Can you tell they are up to no good? I discovered afterwards that they were playing with sap from the tree... as Iman would say "yucky poo!"

A rare hug that wasn't followed by someone hugging until the other one falls over.

Nick and Amine had fun playing with the babies in the backyard, it's hard to believe that Amine raked an hour before I shot these videos, peak fall.

Bibi has mad skills for soccer, or at least he is in training for the mad skills

Two videos from Thanksgiving at the Silvestro's, very cute ring around the Rosie and chase each other down the hall (favorite game of toddlers next to walking up and down stairs)

On a side note, is there another blog host that is better than blogspot? It honestly takes me a full day to do a post with a lot of pictures and videos, some of that is due to two toddlers, but the uploading speed is maddening.

a perfect fall day

2009-11-04T21:27:00.011-05:00

I have been sick this past week, and Amine was out of town Sunday-Friday so I am a little sapped of energy and witty commentary, but I wanted to get this post out... it has been sitting half finished for the past week.

I couldn't take watching Iman struggle to keep her hair out of her lunch, so I gave her her first trim on Monday. Now we can see those big brown eyes unobstructed.

Bibi plays peekaboo from behind our headboard.

Iman tries on Baba's driving hat.

Bibi hitches a ride

A few snapshots from my Uncle Bob's 70th birthday party. Apparently, Amine is selling Panda books.

The perfect fall day in our backyard

Evil Kenivel

Our little builder

Sylvie gets down

It's official, she's got the Tremblay hips

Random snapshots

2009-10-19T11:37:00.004-04:00

Between yoga teacher training and Boston skipping fall and moving directly to wintery mix I haven't taken too many pictures lately, but here is the hodgepodge I have managed to take. Excuses, excuses... i need to get off my butt and take more pictures and do more than one post a month.

This picture is actually from August, but I just dug it out from my phone, I love that Bibi is in a perfect Kung Fu cat stance. We need to get him signed up for Yao's classes.

The babies have been testing out their Halloween looks. Iman really likes becoming Eeyore and making cute donkey noises.

Bibi, on the other hand, is more focused on this annoying hat on his head. The Halloween shots will have to be fast and furious before Bibi frees himself.

The Benali household is recycling some toys from our neighborhood. I found a few "free" items outside and the babies seem to appreciate my thriftiness.

Iman checks out the new wheels.

So the next day I picked up the little deuce coupe that was also free so both babies could cruise the patio together. The wheels going in opposite directions may pose a problem in the actual mobility of their car, but they don't seem to mind.

Bibi and Iman have learned the names of many body parts... here Bibi points out the eyes as he says it... I know I still need video, trust me people.

Crouching tiger hidden Bibi.

Iman in her United Colors of Benetton, riding her bike on a lovely fall day.

Some cute games the babies have discovered in the kitchen... dress the cat.

Figgy is a very patient... or maybe the word is tolerant cat.

Our favorite game is chase the brother/sister. They love this one, circling the table until they forget who was chasing who, turn around and are thoroughly surprised when they run into each other. Also, if anyone can translate what Iman asks Bibi that he shakes his head no in response, I would love to know.

September

2009-09-26T23:06:00.009-04:00

Bad blogger, it has been too long, but for good or bad there haven't been milestones anyone has missed. The babes have a few more words (nose, horse, cow, bus, cookie, ball and balloon to name a few), but none of them seem to be caught on film yet. Otherwise, not too much has changed, but here are our latest pictures including a visit from Grammy... who somehow thinks she is a "Mimi".

Bibi proves he can still fit in small spaces

Iman loves her cats

more fun uplighting at Harvard Square

boo!

Bibi enjoys the swings at York Beach in Maine

Iman enjoys meeting the local "woof woofs"

Some fun on Beau and Katie's porch during my mom's visit

chair surfing is Iman's latest sport

a whole new version of tummy time with Grammy

The babes take turns on the rocking bike in our backyard

So this is photo evidence of round one of Babies' fun with Vaseline. I was in good enough spirits to take a few pictures before clean up... I was much less amused when they got into the Vaseline again four hours later. For those of you who are curious, or may someday find yourselves in a similar situation, dish soap works wonders for their clothes and hair.

I think it may be the curse of Sylvie's clothing. The first day I put Iman in one of Sylvie's shirts she had her butt paste incident, now the first day wearing this shirt of Sylvie's, Vaseline incident. Is it possible she is making a statement against hand-me-downs?

fun with Uncle Beau

The babies had a super cute kissing cousin frenzy, this is a little snippet of kisses.

last but not least Grammy dancing with Iman, the girl loves to jump!

I see dead people

2009-08-28T21:12:00.012-04:00

What have the Babies B been up to lately? I know everyone is wondering, no cure for cancer, no works of art, just good old summer fun with friends and family. We are trying to work on some new words and although they may not be understood by the general public quite yet, they are very cute toddler speak. They have their version of dog= "woof woof", eyes is pretty on the money, ears sounds a bit like the SNL Chicago accent of Da Bears, hat doesn't quite have the H, apple is spot on and we have the Mama, Baba and Hi down pat. I have to get some video clips of the babes chatting it up, but back to the friends and family...

I got to see how the other half lives as a mom of one. Bibi and I visited Mike, Lisa and Vince at their new place. We got the grand tour and spent some quality time in the pool and eating some watermelon.
Last weekend Amine and I brought the kids to the Museum of Science. Iman loved playing with the bones and human skeleton. Bibi of course loved the music.

We visited with my old pals from Francestown and all their kids... I think we had 10 children and grandchildren! running around Jami's house.
If you subscribe to Sylvie's blog you already know we visited Forest Hills Cemetery yesterday, but here are some more shots from our adventures among the dead.

Iman pays her respects to some German guy from the 1800's, man how she misses him!

Bibi checking out a pretty interesting "book" grave.

This gravestone was literally a family tree, it was a sculpture of a tree with the family members etched serpentining up the trunk. Bibi of course just wanted to climb it.

I think Sylvie has been taking some dance classes on the sly.

ha cha cha cha! All she needs is jazz hands.

I just really loved the rainbow colored lichen, all in all a really great park with some very interesting sculptures. We will definitely go back again. I love that we have two huge amazing outdoor spaces so close to our house. I would love to do a real photo shoot there, maybe soon!

and now for something completely different

2009-08-13T23:15:00.004-04:00

I am making up for not having posted anything for a month, how did a month go by?

It's not just me, you gotta love these guys, right? Iman may seem Zerbert challenged, but she got the hang of it thirty seconds later. I just don't want to show too much of a good thing.

Da Cape

2009-08-13T21:13:00.016-04:00

This is my offering of image overload of our trip to the Cape and visit with Grammy/ Mimi. I thought my mom was going to be old school and go with the traditional grammy title, but she heard Bibi say Mimi and she quickly changed her tune. Also, Sylvie picked up the new name in no time. Maybe in years to come I will forget that when Bibi says "Mimi" it is him saying "feed me Mama, I am HUNGRY!" So pulling back from my digression.....

Right before departure to Logan we grabbed a quick lunch and one last hug with the grandkids.

Iman unfortunately takes after me when it comes to the beach, it's not really her bag, so she hangs out under the umbrella catching some zzz's.
Bibi on the other hand is his Baba's boy loving everything about the beach, the sand, the water, the ladies... what's not to love?

Sylvie girl chilling

Iman, still safely on the towel... no sand on those hands or feet

looking pretty cute in Mama's hat

Some P-town Can Can dancing by Miss Sylvie, so much cuter than the cross dresser on the bicycle
My favorite part of P-town a hidden gem of a zen garden that the babies got to stretch their legs and play with some Koi and a Buddha or two.

The required picture of architecture

We met up with Craig, Alicia and the boys, but I somehow managed not to take a single piece of photographic evidence of that, so you have to trust me.

More architecture, I loved all the Hydrangea bushes. I guess that's the one good thing about a rainy summer.

Bibi in his big chair

Like Archie and Edith Bunker, they each had their favorite chair, both very retro and could have actually been on the set of "All in the Family"

ok, so I realize there are a lot of pictures here and I should really edit more, maybe next time.

I think everyone else must have still been sleeping, or Iman is a total camera hog, little poser!

Sylvie and Katie on our first day at the Cape soaking in the afternoon rays.

40 days and 40 nights

2009-08-13T10:59:00.004-04:00

The babies B were the only ones who thoroughly enjoyed the construction process in our backyard, a parade of bobcats, tractors, and workers spent four weeks rather than four days transforming our backyard from white trash to happy suburbia.

A big part of the problem was the quality of workers, I am pretty sure this day laborer set the process back rather than advancing it forward, but she couldn't resist.

The dramatic Before.....

and After!

We returned from the cape to find some lovely green stuff in our backyard, it was such a difference that my mom wondered why I was parking so far from the house... she didn't recognize it!

It is such a wonderful change to have a park of sorts of our very own that I can just bring the babies outside and let them run around. It is also nice to have a nice seating area and grill for the big kids too. Those suburbanites are onto something.

Just yesterday the Babies B hanging in the yard

The End... or should I say ends

a bobcat and a birthday

2009-07-11T22:07:00.007-04:00

Today work began in our yard. It all looked very promising for about ten minutes and then Lawrence, later referred to as Loco Larry, drove his Bobcat on the edge of our rotting retaining wall at the high side of the driveway, he rolled off and luckily didn't hurt himself. The next few hours were spent trying to resurrect the Bobcat and find other things to do until new equipment could be rented. I have a feeling this process may have several such anecdotes before we are done.

I then left Amine to supervise the crew while I piled the kids in the car and went to Lise's house for Eliza's second birthday party. We had a great afternoon playing with the other kids and relaxing in Lise's backyard and driveway... who knew how much fun a driveway could provide? I came home to find two Bobcats and one ginormous bulldozer, the neighbors thought we were putting in a pool, so far we are just moving dirt around, but we will see what tomorrow brings.

my bookends

the kids loved the wagon, especially when someone pulled them around

Eliza is already multi-tasking!

the bulkhead also topped the list of cheap thrills, they repeatedly climbed to the top and then slid down, who needs playground equipment?

Zoe, ridiculously cute and photogenic... and her dad Mike

my kids were the only ones climbing on tables, hopefully it's just a stage

Eliza's new baby carriage was a big hit

Is it too early to claim Zoe as Bibi's future wife?

How cute is this swing?

The birthday girl and her cake

Our last day in Morocco

2009-07-11T21:49:00.002-04:00

Here's the last of the image overload, I still may post a video or two, but right now Iman is not quite asleep and me reviewing the videos is keeping her awake, so another time. These photos are from a mountain town outside of Oujda. Most of the family was there visiting Amine's grandparents, I realized my other posts left out some of the other cute cousins, so here are Ilias and Sid Hamed.

Ilias was so little two summers ago, but here he is looking like a big boy next to Bibi

Sid Hamed playing with Bibi

Amine's parents having one final tea with us before driving us to the airport.

Rocking the trigs

2009-07-08T14:57:00.004-04:00

This video was too precious not to share. Iman shows the world that the Beasty Boys still rock the house. Not what I thought she'd be rocking to, but there is plenty of time for her to discover a passion of Marley music.

Joc is already attempting to recruit Tayeb into the architects clan. Here she's giving him a hands-on trigonometry lesson (anyone remembers which is the sine and which is the cosine?)

Morocco-part deux

2009-06-27T11:24:00.035-04:00

As unlikely as it seems, I managed to take 700 pictures while in Morocco for two and a half weeks, the benefit and shortfall of the digital age. You are bound to capture something worthwhile, but you also have 700 images to sort through. All this to explain why I am offering another image overload. Morocco offers a new and interesting backdrop for the Babies B. Also, while I thought I was uploading the photos in chronological order, I managed to instead load them in reverse showing the more recent photos first, but if you weren't there you wouldn't know the difference barring my explanation of where each photo was taken.

When last we left off our Moroccan adventure we had gone to the beach several times, this batch of photos begins (at bottom) with Bibi our little punk rock boy and some pictures of Amine's dad, Tayeb's namesake, with the kids before we walked him to his train for Casablanca. He took to the kids pretty quickly and was sorry to have to leave them for a few days.

Our next adventure was a road trip to Fes and Ifrane with Amine's grandmother and his uncle. After an early morning start and a few uneventful hours in the car, the babes demanded both parents' presence in the back seat and Amine's uncle took the driver's seat. That is when the fun began and the new land speed record was set, let's just say we made very good time from that point on in our travels. We rolled into Fes early afternoon and checked the progress on his grandparent's renovation to their apartment before we decided to check into a hotel for a shower and a nap. Oddly, the second hotel we stayed in for an afternoon of leisure rather than a nights' sleep. If we didn't have two kids in tow, I may have looked like a lady of questionable character frequenting Moroccan hotels. Freshly showered and napped we continued our journey to Ifrane, stopping at a small mountain town for the best ghringo (no way to spell that nicely in English.... it's a thick bubbly crepe drizzled with honey and olive oil). We stayed at another Uncle's place in Ifrane. The next morning we had breakfast and headed back to Fes stopping at a roadside farmer's market of sorts and for lunch at McDonald's- very fancy. In Fes we took a spin through the Souk (market). We then started for a very long drive back to Oujda.

After stopping at BBQ town (aka my idea of Hell) for some eats, we happened upon the king's caravan to Oujda. We happened to be driving a black Mercedes like all the king's men... so we pulled a move reminiscent of my father or Obi-Wan Kenobi's Jedi mind trick... "these are not the droids you are looking for". We managed to clock speeds upwards of 100 mph, sail past police checkpoints and even pass lesser cops even though we were a car with two kids, a grandma and a white lady rather than a car of suits. I saw my life pass before my eyes on several occasions, but again, we made great time.

Our next road trip was a few days later to another small mountain town with a natural spring. We had some lunch and then drove to a cave that Amine remembered from youth. I got some great shots of us "bouldering" in the cave and Bibi and Iman enjoying the spring mountain water in the buff. I think all that's left to show is the last day in Morocco and several videos, but I will save that for part trois if you are up for it... in a few days.

I couldn't stop snapping pictures of Bibi in the buff, something about going au natural in nature was really beautiful

I am sure he will hate me for it in years to come

before the babes went au natural

my little cutie

check out that reach!

the cave man, or the cave guard, anyway a cool old chap who was very spry for his age

Outside the cave at Zigzel (I think Amine is making these names up as we go)

Yet another unfortunate diaper change for Bibi, ah Morocco

Alae and Bibi

Amine's cousin Alae joined us for our trip to Tafoughalt (say that five times fast)

So it turns out my son is a meatatarian, he snatched this lamb chop from his Baba

and helped himself

then offered it again to Baba

and then had some more

Amine's aunt Tahta

One of my favorite houses in Oujda

Amine's beloved "Rudy" is put to use in Oujda

Amine's sister, Sanae with Bibi

Amine's dad on his way to the Friday prayer

proud fisherman

air time

Bibi playing with Baba

Iman loves to fly

Walid is sucked into the age of video games

I love Iman and Walid's expressions "take my PSP, I think not!"

still relatively composed after several hours in the car

Our happy traveler

BBQ town

According to Amine, politicians have graphics to represent themselves so illiterate folks can vote for the faucet or eyes... I just thought it was organized graffiti

Fes

window shopping in Fes

Mosque in the heart of Fes' souk

Fes

the fanciest McDonald's I have ever seen

Two babes, mama, and a donkey en route from Ifrane to Fes

grandma negotiating cherry prices

Moroccan roadside farmer's market, awesome fresh cherries

Fes bound

goodbye's in the train

Tayeb and Tayeb

punk rocker

Morocco-09

2009-06-12T18:14:00.005-04:00

Here's a first batch of pictures from Morocco, it takes about ten minutes per uploading five pictures, so not a fast and easy process. These first pictures are from when we went to see Sanae's kids' tennis lessons, it looks like the French open with clay courts. Iman enjoyed checking the court conditions and then wiping her hands of any clay.

These photos are of Iman in the courtyard of Amine's parents' house.

We have made three day trips to the beach so far this trip. Bibi loves the surf and sand, laughing hysterically when waves come crashing into him and diving into holes Amine has dug in the sand for him. Iman on the other hand is totally freaked out by the feel of the sand and curls her feet and pulls her legs up in an attempt of avoiding standing on it. She finally had some fun playing with a bucket full of water, but we definitely have one Benali and one Tremblay in the beach department.

The widow sills of Amine's parents' house are deep enough for the kids to hang out in, like a little fort.

or prison....
The kids enjoyed some Moroccan tunes and dancing with the ladies.

Bibi's turn to explore the courtyard.

Amine always becomes a human jungle gym with his nephews and cousins.

My link to the English speaking world...
These photos are from our first trip to the beach where we discovered it's high time the kids had a sandbox.

Iman loves sitting on the bottom stair, her little seat.
When we visited Sanae, we took a walk to the golf course that she lives on and walked through the hotel lobby near there. I love these painted doors.

A picture from Sanae's house.
These photos are from our visit to Tehta's house. Amine's aunt who is over 100 years old, she has a really beautiful house with an interior courtyard that keeps it cool all summer long. Also showing the un-babyproof stairs of death that exist in every house over here.

The Babies B asleep in their giant crib on the floor of our bedroom.

baby foosball

2009-06-11T08:08:00.006-04:00

Again, we will see how frustrated I get with this post... I tried uploading this clip to the last post and finally gave up, but it's pretty cute, so I thought I would give it a second chance. Here Amine and I are playing the brand new sport baby foosball. Clearly Amine is taking it more seriously and might run the risk of becoming a soccer dad.

Hanane's visit

2009-06-08T08:32:00.006-04:00

So updating the blog from Morocco seems like a great idea, I have plenty of down time. Amine can watch the kids while I am uploading the pictures, the only problem is the slow internet connection that bumps me in and out every two minutes. I wanted to show the rest of the photos from Hanane's visit to Boston and if the internet situation resolves I may be able to post some Morocco pictures before we return... we will see.

Some Memorial Day backyard picnic pictures

Iman's favorite book

We love our new seats, plenty of room for us and a guest to keep us company in the backseat

The first pictures are from when we met Amine for lunch at one of our favorite Indian restaurants on Newbury street and then went to the Tob of the Hub for great views of Boston as well as the best darn plate of warm cookies I have ever had.

mmm, cookies

We also visited the Aquarium which the babies as well as Hanane loved. The babies loved walking up to the glass and seeing the sea lions swim right up to them. Hanane also took some great pictures of the jellyfish. Please ignore the fact that the photos are out of sequence I am going on day three of trying to get this post out and I can't be bothered to futz with it anymore. We had a great visit with Hanane, the visit went by too quickly.

Masters

2009-05-17T22:12:00.010-04:00

A few extra shots from my Iphone and mom's camera from Dawn's visit and Mother's Day in the Arboretum.

Today Tayeb became the youngest person to receive a Masters in Economics from BU (I heard rumors that a ten month old got his degree from Harvard last year, but I think his family donated one of the medical school buildings)

Here's Bibi on the megatron which induced the entire audience to "awe", all except Iman of course, who will expect Amine to get his PhD just so she will have a shot at participating next time. We were lucky to have a nice crowd of family and friends who were able to come to Amine's graduation today including his sister Hanane all the way from Paris.

Asmaa and Yasmine

Yasmine, Hanane and Asmaa

Yasmine and Adnane

Katie, Sylvie and Hanane

These two clips show the infectious laughing of Iman and Tayeb. I think it was from an interview on Actor's Studio that someone said their favorite sound was their child's laughter. My answer would have been the sound of a crushed can kicked across the pavement or the

lapping sound of tires on Rome's cobblestone streets until I heard Iman's giggle... it definitely tops my first two answers, love it.

Is it me, or does Bibi suddenly look like a toddler in these next two pictures? A little boy has replaced my baby.

And last but not least, the Babies B rocking out to some Moroccan tunes.

Lilacs and Lilywhites give off a gentle scent

2009-05-10T22:04:00.007-04:00

My favorite book to read to the kids, "In a Blue Room" gives me the title for this post. Today we were in the Arboretum for Lilac Sunday and Mother's Day. We went for brunch and then strolled through the Arboretum meeting up with Nick, Mike and Lisa, and Beau. The babies took turns with cat naps and dog watching while the parents took in a perfect spring day. I especially enjoyed sitting on the grassy banks with many other families. Too often we stroll through the Arboretum without "copping a squat". Today made me realize we need to stop and smell the lilacs and enjoy some picnics in our extended backyard. The kids had their first experience walking on their own in the crowds... Bibi was easily distracted, Iman kept up with our pace and Sylvie took off on her own sending Beau chasing after her on several occasions. The only thing I would change is the use of sunblock, how after 36 years it hasn't gotten through my thick skull that I am a white girl, I don't know.

Bibi "climbing" a tree

Sylvie enjoys a dip

kisses

Iman of the trees

I love their expressions... I definitely caught them in the act... what act I don't know

Mom and son

Mom and goofball son

Uncle Nick and flower child Bibi

Miss Thang

Trouble with a capital T

Baba and Iman

Sunny days... everything is A.O.K.

2009-04-26T22:57:00.007-04:00

It was a perfect weekend in Boston, sunny and in the 80's, so we spent both days outside. We went for a hike through the woods on Saturday and today we took a nice long stroll through the Arboretum. Beau, Katie and Sylvie came over for a visit in the afternoon and the girls Christened the pool in our backyard.

mmm sun

Iman "milking" the water

Bibi explores yet another tight spot

Iman and I hiking through the woods

Sylvie had a blast in the pool

As promised some daytime walking that's a bit easier on the eyes.

lights, camera, action

2009-04-20T23:05:00.008-04:00

I don't know if it's the artist/photographer in me, but lately I seem to only take photos when there is great natural light striking my subjects (Iman and Tayeb, obviously). Next thing you know I will only be showing black and white images. I think this is a gut reaction to my very disappointing dream the other day about grocery shopping. I can't imagine my life has become so domesticated that I am grocery shopping in my dream... what happened to international spy mystery woman? Anyway, until I carve out some me time for an art class, the kids and the blog will have to do for creative outlet.

OK, this shot is included to ask the question... is there baby hair gel and where can we get our hands on it? Of course I have never used "product" for my own hair, so we may need some help.

Unlike photos, I take video whenever the kids are doing something new or cute and all my mad photography skills obviously do not translate to videography. Last time I took video sideways, this time it's entirely too dark, but the kids seem to dig walking around after dinner. Iman actually looks like she is breaking into a sprint in a few of these. Hopefully, she will repeat this in the daytime so it might be seen a little better.

Unsolicited walking

2009-04-07T16:44:00.010-04:00

The babies had their one year well baby exams and we proceeded to leave their "stats" printouts at the docs office. If memory serves, Tayeb was 20 lbs 11 oz and Iman was maybe 17.5 lbs? I can't remember, it was a whole week ago. I know we were told to try and bulk Iman up a bit. I think the fact that they have both almost tripled their birth weight in one year is impressive, but I guess it doesn't work like that. The babies and I are ready for spring, every day I look outside waiting for the sun and warmth, for a day that begs us to go outside and play. Until then here are a few shots of the babes hanging in the living room.

Lions and tigers and bears oh my!

Checking out the backyard for kitties and squirrels.

Iman manages to hold four of these "gears" in one hand and then spends a half hour trying to repeat the feat. I think she is going to be stubborn like her mama.

I love the innocent look away as she dives her entire fist into her snack trap in search of more goldfish.
This little top is tricky, requiring a quick turn to get it to light up and sing, both babes are trying to figure it out.

A friend of ours heard how much Iman enjoys texting on her daddy's blackberry. He works in I.T. and was nice enough to bestow the babes with blackberrys... (or would it be blackberries like the fruit?) of their very own. Of course Iman needs to hold both of them, somehow with two babies you need three of really great toys so Bibi still has at least one.

The whole family taking a lazy Saturday morning nap.

We took a trip up to my old stomping grounds in NH, it turned out to be a beautiful day and we enjoyed a nice walk through the wilderness. It makes me look forward to hiking and camping with babes this summer, is that nuts? Can we camp with babies?

The Babies B, jammin' while they eat

And the "piece de resistence", Iman started to do some unsolicited walking over the weekend.

Not to be left behind, Bibi saw his sister and decided to follow suit today. Please ignore mommy brain videographer. I am so used to taking pictures vertically and seem to forget that videos don't rotate so easily, so turn your heads and enjoy.

Today I called Bibi "Captain Hectic", I just love this clip of him getting that booty in the air and then his walk with reckless abandon... that's my boy!

Thank you Easter Bunny, one fun and a swing

2009-03-27T21:53:00.010-04:00

Are you ready for image overload? It has been quite a year, and honestly I feel like it has flown by. My little babies are one year old. I feel like I will blink and they will be headed off to school. Grammy was in town to help celebrate and although she was here for a week I have very little photo evidence to show for it. We got some professional photos of our one year olds and their cousin... they had real live floppy eared bunnies as props, how could we turn that down? It is proving harder and harder to have three mobile babies in a photo shoot, even with a super cute bunny, there was almost always at least one baby making a run for the door (or quick crawl). Here are a few shots that they did manage to get.

Droolicious

smile

super smile

I am not sure Iman is the animal lover that Sylvie is, she reaches out to touch bunny then quickly pulls her hand away, who could be afraid of this little bun?

This is as close as Bibi came to petting the bunny, pulling vs. petting..... tomato tomahto

Again, not the intent when bringing carrots for the bunny.

On Saturday we celebrated the babies' birthday, it was amazing having our house full of family, friends and neighbors. The little ones seemed to enjoy our toy filled rooms and the big people seemed to have a good time too. I managed to take a whopping four pictures during their party, so thankfully Beau gave me his and hopefully others will send theirs along as well (hint hint).

Typical Iman, although she has a perfectly good piece of cake in her hand she is looking at her brother and wondering why she does not have his cake in her left hand.

Bibi's first taste of frosting. He really didn't try the cake until the next day, not for lack of trying on my part. By day three he turned into a cake loving little man.

Sylvie's cute kissy fish face, her newest trick to charm the crowds.

My little Moroccan baby is serious about her drumming, there is actually a tradition of Moroccan dance on a steel drum, it's in her blood I guess. I have tried to show a link to youtube, but I guess it's too late tonight, for me to figure out the Mac.

I love these videos of the kids dancing. Every time they hear music they can't seem to help themselves.

And last but not least the Babies B had there first ride on a swing, they couldn't stop giggling.

Twins

2009-03-11T16:05:00.005-04:00

I realized that normally my posts are "look at the cute thing this baby or that baby is doing". This is maybe the first "look at what they are doing" and things that only happen with twins. I am sure as they get older there will be much more interaction and cute stories and fights that ensue. It seems since they have been mobile they are always near each other, playing with the same toys and exploring the same things. I don't know if they are ever on opposite sides of the living room doing their own thing.

Today marked the first of I am sure many "bit of the ultra-violence" to bring a creepy Clockwork Orange quote into the mix. When I went to the bathroom, assuming all would be fine in the living room, I heard Iman start to cry. I discovered her in the tunnel with Bibi blocking the entrance. I assumed she was just annoyed that he was blocking the way until I noticed after her nap five suspicious marks on her cheek.

She seems fine and to show there were no hard feelings Bibi offered her a snack after lunch.

Iman follows suit

2009-03-08T19:22:00.005-04:00

I get the feeling Iman has had this skill in her pocket for a few months now and has just been waiting for Sylvie and Bibi so she doesn't always look like the show off. She has taken a few steps here and there but she really just started walking a little bit yesterday, but today she was walking like she has been doing it for a while, to me, to Katie and on her own with no one egging her on. Anyway, here's some footage of the little lady strutting her stuff. I took no photos of the stitch and bitch today, but it was very busy and cute, six babies playing in the living room among nine stichin' and bitchin' ladies.

Let it snow, let it snow, let it...ok enough already!!

2009-03-02T15:22:00.012-05:00

So it's snowing... again. I remember loving snow as a kid, I love it as a New Englander and a snowboarder, but I am not loving it as a homeowner and a mom to two little ones. It pretty much imprisons us. While I shoveled our sidewalk during babies' morning nap, very conscious of making a path wide enough for a wheelchair, or say a doublewide stroller, I know that no one else on my street has done the same. Of course I am not itching to take the babies on a stroll during a wintery mix, but it would be nice to have the option.

In brighter news I have finally caught Bibi's steps on video. He is up to about four steps, I never would have thought that he would walk before Iman since she crawled at least two months before him. The little man is sneaky, what's that saying.... slow and steady wins the race.

No walking footage of Iman yet, but here's a little high stepping she does in celebration of her brother.

Enjoy two clips of Bibi and his proud first steps

Those of you active in facebook have already seen these images, but for those of you not enlightened by the wonderful world of facebook, here are a few more pictures of the Babies B. The Fez shots are from a visit to Adnane's apartment.

The professor hanging out in our living room.

So that's it for the post today, I am off to find more dream second homes in New Hampshire... I did say I love snow right?

Bibi "the Body" Benali

2009-02-16T20:43:00.006-05:00

Bibi has world class wrestling moves fueled by mad giggling. I can't say Amine appreciated his talent as he is recovering from a stomach bug.

The Babies B were finally upgraded to big kid car seats this weekend, much to my dismay. As you can see they hate the new seats.

oot and aboot

2009-02-16T11:15:00.007-05:00

It has been a very busy week. We went to the stitch and bitch on Sunday, got the stomach bug on Tuesday which ended with a trip to Children's ER. The babies seemed fine on Wednesday, so we met Uncle Beau and cousin Sylvie at Brown Sugar for his birthday lunch and a walk in Dennehey park. On Thursday we hopped in the car to visit my friends from elementary school and their kids and GRANDKID!! Friday, Amine worked a half day and then we went to Harvard Square for lunch at Border Cafe where the babies enjoyed some beans and rice as well as guacamole. Saturday, we went to the Wrentham Outlets to buy the babies the next size up, Bibi is officially in 12 months and I am moving Iman up to 9 months. Asmaa came with us and was very helpful when neither baby wanted to be in the stroller. We then stopped by Adnane's house for a visit. Yesterday, Amine finally started to install our toe kick in the kitchen and that, of course, led to a trip to IKEA. It was cuckoo busy but we got a couple of cool purchases, a new kitchen table and highchairs and a fun little walker... see footage below.

Our visit to NH, Jami and Kari haven't changed a bit.

Bibi doing his best Austin Powers impression

Kari's Daughter Mary and Bibi and Iman, and Jami's daughter in the background

A few shots from the stitch and Bitch.

Almost every shot was blurry, someone is always on the move.

Our new walker toy.

Snapshots

2009-01-31T21:05:00.008-05:00

We have taken a trip down to visit Deb in Philadelphia and stopped to see Amy and her new baby, Matteo on the way down and Nikki and her daughter Alexa on the way home and I don't have much to show for it in photos. We went to Bob Hoffman's son's first birthday party and the Peabody Essex Museum today and have no photos to show for it. It seems like when we are out "doing" things with the babies lately I can't be bothered to take pictures. I am doing well to keep them both safe, warm, fed and in relatively dry diapers. I failed Bibi in that last part today. Anyway, all of this is my excuse as to why there haven't been more posts and more interesting photos. All I am left with are snapshots on my phone, with that said, here they are in their latest antics at home. I will try to be more camera happy when we are out and about town... I swear I do take them out of the house.

Elvis and his shopping cart. I can't tell if he's annoyed that I am taking his picture or that he isn't getting items on sale.

A happy Bibi snuggled in his car seat.

Iman, proud that she has climbed yet another object in our living room and has discovered how to get the baby wipes out of the container. (I know, thrilling commentary!)
Two seconds before grabbing for the phone.

Bibi dismantling the floor playmat and then showing that he could be a contortionist despite his wide girth.
Iman follows suit.

My little cutie loves when the sun hits the wall and playing with her shadow.

Iman playing with the new toy that offers more cruising acreage.

Bibi in his magazine shoot for Panera. "Got Panera?"

Bibi and Grammy snuggle over Christmas.

Hanging with the cuz

2009-01-15T21:29:00.007-05:00

My mom mentioned that it has been a while since a post, so here we go, here's January so far. We spent the majority of last Saturday at Beau and Katie's and the babies had some quality time together. Beau turned a basket into a great tugboat ride. Sylvie led the way and then Iman hopped on board and finally Iman became tugboat captain for her passenger, Bibi.

Sylvie enjoys her tunnel as a fun rolling chair.

If you can get past the camera getting blurry every time the balloon bounces closer, it's a pretty cute clip.

I love this shot of Beau and Iman cracking each other up.

Bibi begins his supervised petting of Figgy. He is usually very gentle until he gets excited and then poor Figgy goes the way of the bongo... repeated rhythmic smacking until Figgy flees.
Bath time with my cuties.

Iman has always loved this bouncer, she uses it to stand up, climbs up on it and now it has become her Bark-a-lounger of sorts, she climbs in and chills out. It is her new favorite nap spot.