Meet Oakland parents Temi and Matt and their beautiful twin sons, Isaac, in mommy's loving arms, and Abraham, gettin' all cleaned up by daddy (don't worry, more of their cutie faces soon):

Been catching up on some blogging and I have been getting so much joy from looking over this awesome family's photos again! Temi, a fellow Twins by the Bay mom, reached out to document her family right at the cusp of her sons' first birthday. Fully expecting to arrive at our consultation to meet two babies, I was (pleasantly) surprised to meet two exuberant, active FULL-ON young boys. I discovered, shortly after contacting Temi and Matt, that not only are they die-hard USC Trojans fans, but also that Matt is a basketball coach - so the fact that Ike and Abe were active and athletic little dudes was, in hindsight, absolutely no surprise!

Being a twin mom (and twin) myself, I feel like I have heard "it all" when it comes to beliefs/superstitions surrounding twin-dom. But, Temi, being of Nigerian ancestry, shared with me the coolest information regarding beliefs about twins in Nigerian culture. Check it out:

"Two of the most common destiny names among the Yorùbá are Taiwo (or Taiye) and Kehinde, which are given primarily to twins. It is believed that the first of the twins is Taiwo (or Taiye), whose intention in coming out first is to perceive whether or not the environment that they are about to enter is a good one for his or her superior to be in. When he or she is so satisfied, he or she grants the other twin, Kehinde (sometimes shortened to Kenny), the go ahead to come out."

Super cool, huh?

Mr. smiley and curious Abe:

Mr. Ike - making sticking your tongue look cool ;)

Brothers!!!

This family's energy kept me on my toes and was truly refreshing. The love they shed upon one another was abundant and I felt right at home with their welcoming nature.

What an honor to get a glimpse of this beautiful family's everyday life. Can't wait to for the next time!