Guess Who's Walking!

Went for an 18 month routine checkup on Saturday and was telling the PA that G still isn't walking yet.

Well, guess who decided to take her first steps on Tuesday?!!!

This is a video of her today (with the therapists):

http://youtu.be/ywSEDhz8TuQ

Note: She was doing so great the physical therapist did not even use the walker in the video.

Time for Mommy to Brag...(and some bargain books)

With the "sign language explosion" that's been happening in our house lately, the speech therapist advised that we pick 2-3 new signs to work on with the kids each week. So, we are working on "cookie" (swirl fingertips on upside palm of other hand) and our version of "stinky" (wave hand in front of nose and say "ewww, stinky") - in hopes that the kids could start to notice when they're diapers were wet.

Yesterday, my nanny says to me "So, what do you think about getting the potty out? If they don't like it, you can always put it away and try again next month."

I have a co-worker whose wife is from Peru and he told me that, because diapers are so expensive, most of the kids are potty trained by 9 months. His son was fully trained at about 13 months - early by US starndards, but late compared to most of the kids in Peru.

Thinking back to this story, I responded, "Sure, what have I got to lose?"

So, yesterday, both kids sat on the potty for awhile. Other than looking adorable...and actually being somewhat amenable to it...nothing.

This morning, after breakfast, we tried again and - sure enough, my son poo'ed right in the potty! I am sure it was purely a timing thing - we know he typically "goes" during or shortly after breakfast. Still, you should have seen the happy dance I did to praise him! I was so proud!

I am not expecting potty training to happen overmight - but it's one small step toward the end of diaper changes - a tough time for both kids.

G is taking to the potty too. I will give her a toy (especially anything with buttons) or a magazine to read (and tear to shreads) and she will just sit  and play.

The other day, I received the following link to an amazing sale Amazon is having - 50 Books for $5 each! I ordered six - two about kitty cats, one about trucks, one about a dinosaur and one about monsters going to bed - and they arrived today. Hardcover books with beautiful illustrations. Perfect for reading at bedtime!

http://www.amazon.com/gp/feature.html?ie=UTF8&docId=1000846861

Hope you can find some that you enjoy too!

Enjoy!

What I Say and What G Hears...

Over the last three weeks, G has gone through a language explosion! She's picked up about five new signs, can now consistently identify many of her body parts and is starting to communicate verbally too. She clearly says "hi" and "dog", speaks "ba" for ball and tries to repeat other sounds she hears us say over-and-over, like our dog's name.

When we put her to bed and ask her "Can you turn on your music?" she'll cruise along the handrail over to her mobile and push one of the four buttons to make it start. If we say "give teddy a hug" she will find her pink stuffed bear and cuddle it up between her arm and her neck and say "ugggghhhh".

On the physical front, she LOVES her orthotics (we call them her "daisy shoes" because they have daisies printed on them) and will raise her feet to meet our hands as we are putting them on. She still isnt' brave enough to stand letting go, but she has made major strides in taking steps while we hold both of our hands.

Another thing we've been working on is to remind her that when she comes out of crawling position, she shouln't sit between her heels with her feet splayed. We'll say "no 'W' sitting - feet front." and about 50% of the time, she'll swing one or both of them around.

This weekend, she had just swung her feet front and started patting her knees, so I said "knees, knees, knees!" She looked at me, smiled and rubbed her hand across her heart (the sign-language sign for "please"). She was so proud of herself (and I was too)!

Engineers are Born, Not Made

Last night, we had to take a trip to the mall to visit the Apple store. While my husband worked with the tech to fix his phone, I took F to the "kids table" to let him wander around. You should have seen him...he was walking more than he was crawling! I was so proud!

After about a minute of playing with the apps and games on an iPad, F kept tapping his fingers on the screen, pressing the home button, and flipping it over and over and over. Over his head, I could almost see a little cartoon bubble that said "I can't wait to crack this sucker open to figure out how this amazing thing works!"

16 Months - An Update

February was a fun month for us because we took the kids to Florida to visit my Dad. We left the day before the snow started falling back home and had beautiful weather the entire week - 80's and sunny every day!

Yogurt! Mmmmmm!

Reading with Grandpa M

Playing Trains at the Children's Museum

Feeding Cows Ping Pong Balls with Grandpa M

Gimme Money, Money, Money

Baby in the Water Pump Pail

At the Pool

Swimming

Wheeeee!

I love to swim!

Meeting my Grand Aunt C!

My Grand Aunt C!

Not too big, not too small, just right!

I think our travel days may be nearing an end. For 15-month-olds, the kids did great on the plane. They didn't fuss going through security and sat in their stroller patiently between the time we arrived at the airport and when we were ready to take off (over two hours).

Since we knew it would be a long flight (over 3 hours), we did purchase a seat for G, but not for F. On the way home, the plane was full, and within the first five minutes, it was clear I had made a mistake. We switched them in-and-out of the car seat, but whichever child was on my lap was a total wiggle worm. We sat three-across, but I felt bad for the people sitting in front and behind us. I am sure two hours of peek-a-boo and being kicked wasn't part of their flight plans. Fortunately, they were all very gracious.

The twins are growing at an astounding rate...

They both have six teeth on the top (the four in front and the one behind their canine) and six teeth on the botton (the four in front and the one behind their incisor). And, starting late last week, their incisors are coming in. How do I know? Well, in addition to seeing them, both twins' noses are running (AGAIN, ugghhhh),they've been fussy and they're chewing at their fingers. As a mommy, even though you know that teething is just one of those rites-of-passage that every kid must go through, it hurts knowing that they are in pain.

F&G have both started to talk. G now says "hi" and "bye" clearly and we've started to hear some new sounds in her babling. This week, I even heard her sound out the letter "p" (but I think it was a complete accident, because I haven't heard it since).

F hasn't been saying "hi" lately, but he does like to point and say "da,da", "dog" and "duck."

They've learned the sign for "please" (but they aren't consistent yet) and we are starting to work on "stinky" so they can start to tell us when they need to be changed.

If you ask "Where's your heart?" they will take both fingers and point at their chest, and if you ask "Where's your belly button?" they will point at their tummy. They've also become more consistent when we ask "Where's your head? Nose? Toes? Cheeks? and sometimes Eyes?

Lately, G has become more bold with her balance. She will cruise around furniture holding on with only one hand, or lean on something and take both hands off. She has also found a new passion for climbing on things. In the nursery, we have two step stools back-to-back beside a bookshelf and in front of a window and she will climb up on those. She will climb into her car seat, out of the bathtub and try to climb on furniture. Last night, she climbed on an ottoman whe keep behind our living room couch and I look over to see her peeking over the back of the sofa. Before I could get to her, she sidestepped right off the ottoman and fell. Good thing the dog bed was nearby and softened her fall...it could have been a nasty one! We are really going to have to be extra dilligent about watching her.

Standing on the Stool in Our Room

I climbed into my seat myself - why aren't I going anywhere? Oh yeah, forgot to grab the keys first!

F is quickly becoming a walking fiend. Around February 20, he would take one step without holding on. By the following Friday, March 1, he was up to two steps. This weekend, he is letting go more-and-more. The difference between just Friday and Sunday is astounding. He's letting go on his own more and more, and is about to REALLY take off:

F taking steps on Friday, March 8

F taking steps on Sunday, March 10

Hope you have a good March. Looking forward to our second spring!

Our Little Baby Girl Isn't a Little Baby Anymore

Since last September, G has been working with a physical therapist because she was diagnosed with "low muscle tone." In other words, the way her body is built, it is just going to take her a little longer to train her muscles to do what they should.This is why she didn't start rolling over until after 9 months, did splits when she learned to sit up, usually preferred to keep her tounge sticking out, and sits in a "W" position and stands with her feet pronated today.

These "quirks" aren't anything anyone is worried about - in fact, it's quite normal for babies and infants to show these traits - but it is something we need to keep on top of and remind her about so that her muscles and tendons will develop "properly" over time.

Part of the solution recommended to us was to put her in orthotics for 6 months to a year. This will encourage G to hold her feet straight, help support her ankles, and aide her in learning to walk - which she's been so desparate to do these past several weeks.

Up to this point, she's run around barefoot or in soft-sole shoes like Robeez. With the orthotics, she needed  more substantial shoes. So, yesterday she wore sneakers for the very first time.

I know she's started to look different these last couple weeks, but with the sneakers on, it was like pushing a fast-forward button. All of the sudden our baby girl doesn't look like a baby anymore!

F has been making progress too. Over the last two weeks, he will stand up all by himself in the middle of the room and not hold onto anything. He is still gun-shy to take steps. This is probably because most of our house has stone, wood or tile floors - so he's learned that when he falls, it hurts. Last Friday, he was taking 1 or 2 steps by himself, by Sunday night he was up to 3 or 4, then we regressed to where he'd just stand and whine and lower his butt back down and crawl, and last night he started to take a few steps on his own again. I haven't had a chance to shoot any video or take a picture of him standing alone, but here is a picture of G and him standing on the stool by the window in the nursery.

Do I Regret My Child Doesn't Look Like Me?

Yesterday, I got one of those surprising emails you just don't anticipate...a Facebook post from my elementary school class with a proposal for a reunion in April.

Aside from my life-long friend, I didn't keep in touch with ANYONE from my elementary school...so we're talking over 35 years since I've seen some of these people!

Naturally, the invite prompted me to peek around at other people's profiles to see what they've done with their lives. Can I tell you, it's creepy...

Most of my class are HIGHLY successful professionals. C-level managers at Fortune 500 companies or owners of their own firms, many attorneys,  a couple of professors at ivy league universities, professional-level athletes, leaders who created their own non-profits.

A few I gather are divorced (maiden names or pictures of children without another spouse) or never married, but most appear to be married with kids.

A couple have moved overseas or to the west coast, but I am surprised by how many stayed within the general vicinty of my hometown.

Yes - a few have some pounds to lose, or their hairline has receded a bit, but overwhelmingly my class looks good for our age.

Stragest of all - one of my former classmates is in the same industry as me and works less than three minutes from my office.

This prompted me to pull out my old class photos...and I came across the photo of me below at about the same age as G.

So, do I regret my child doesn't look like me we used donor eggs? What do you think?

14 Months

14 months? 14 months? 14 months? How did that happen so quick?

So, what does 14 months look like at our house?

We have some new favorite games: Feed the dog and Climb the stairs (but coming down isn't as much fun)

Both babies have become speed-crawlers. I swear they can crawl 30 MPH!

As for walking, F is letting go a little more, but his center of balance is so high that he doesn't trust himself. His legs are so long that when he's sitting next to G, he's a half-a-head shorter. Both babies will take steps if you hold their arms. G likes to kick her legs way out in front of her or to the side each time she takes a step.

As you saw from my last post, F is saying "Hi". Within the last few days, G has started to say "Hi" too, but her's is more of an "Eyyyyy".

Both babies know how to point to their heads and noses and love to dance when they hear music.

On the first of the year, we had some "nanny drama" and had a "changing of the guard".

Their nanny who was previously with them four days a week is now with them only two days, and their "Thursday" nanny is (and sometimes her boyfriend - who is my good friend's son, and my nanny's four-year-old daughter) is now with them three days a week. To be honest, it's been WONDERFUL.

Our four-day nanny and her boyfriend adore them to death and love to take them out on adventures - to the library, to lunch, to the mall, to the indoor rec center playground, to the children's museum, to music class. Sometimes, they even go swimming!

At the Indoor Playground

Swimming

It's also great to have the kids around a four-year-old because they can see what an older kid can do. You can almost see them thinking "I want to do that!"

Oh, lots of days I wish I were a stay-at-home Mom, but knowing they are home having fun and in excellent care puts my mind at ease.
____
Update 01-22-12

So I drafted the post over two weeks ago, but just never hit "post"...

Our company's subsidaries changed names on January 1st, so work was supposed to slow down after the first couple weeks of they year, but it never did. This is the first week like I feel like I can FINALLY come up for air.

Milestones
A few things have changed since I wrote this post...

• The only two places they are not really allowed to go are in the pantry and up the stairs by themselves. Guess where they ALWAYS try to make a mad dash to anytime we forget to close a gate...yup - into the pantry or up the stairs. Yesterday, F sneaked away and decided to sample our Lab's food...yuck! 
• F is now starting to let go with both hands when he squats down. He won't do it all the time...and he still doesn't trust his balance, but it's a start. G will lean against something, like her busy-box table, and let go with both hands too.
• Both babies are getting MUCH more proficient at the stairs. They still prefer going up to going down, but the "feet first" concept is starting to sink in. They're not 100% perfect, but I would say more than 60% they go down backwards vs. forward.
• When I have them on the changing table, I'll ask "Where's your belly button?" and about half the time they get it right. Another 30% they point to their heart and another 20% they are not even warm - usually pointing to their head or ears or mouth.
• G has FINALLY figured out to say "Ooooooo." I'll do it first and she'll  purse her lips and copy me.

We started them in music class agian last week and the difference between last spring and now is astounding. They will bop, clap or kick their feet in-tune with the music. We can defiitely tell they understand certain songs we've repeated again-and-again since they were very little, like "Hi, Hello and How Are You?"



At Music Class With Dad





At this age, They have two favorite toys:

1. Board books. They will sit for five minutes uninterrupted flipping back and forth and back and forth among the pages. They still won't point to colors or specific pictures if we ask them to...even though we rotate through the same 5 board books again and again and again and again. I wouldn't be surprised if they've heard "Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?" close to 1,000 times by now.

2. A Fisher Price "doorway" filled with activites - like a window, shape sorter, clock, doorbell, light and "jukebox" that plays tunes, weather, and traffic reports on "Alphabet Radio." G will crawl over to the radio and keep pushing buttons until she finds the song she's looking for. Once she does, she will bounce up-and-down and laugh. Her favorite song is a toss up between one that counts to 10 and the "Alphabet" song.

Physical Appearance

G's features have changed. She keeps her tongue in almost all the time now, her features look different and her hair becomes more honey-colored each day. She can use her bangs trimmed, but she's so squiggly that I am chicken to get anywhere near her face with a pair of scissors. She has also had a bunch more teeth peek through.

Teddy Needs a Hug

Foods

F's hair is still bleach-blond, short in front and he often has one little strand sticking up., If I put him in overalls and stripes, he is a dead-ringer for Dennis-the-Menace.

G loves her fruits and vegetables - especially blueberries. F still enjoys stuffing his cheeks full of bananas. The other day they tried moo shu chicken for the first time and I think it was a hit.

Good Morning!

 

At the Children's Museum - Baby in the Box

At the Children's Museum - Going Boating



Cheeks Full of Blueberries



Out to Breakfast With Mom and Dad

Until next time...

It's Official - We Have a Flirt!

New Year's was as fun as possible...

On Saturday, my DH and I finally went on a date - something we haven't done in a long, long, time!

Many weeks ago, there was a Groupon deal to an indoor shooting range by our home, so we spent an hour with two 9mm pistols. After, we did something very unexpected...

Ever since we moved into our home six years ago, I've HATED the side-by-side fridge. So, we made an impulse purchase and bought a shiny-new stainless steel, French-door fridge with freezer on the bottom. I can hardly wait until it arrives on Saturday...it can't be soon enough!

To finish, we went out for burgers. Unfortunately, I think mine might have been tainted and I was up most of the night sick. Without family nearby, I was hesitant to "phone a friend," but the kids are still teething, were a bit cranky,  and I was desparate. My angel of a friend rescued me and took the kids for the afternoon. This allowed me to sleep most of the afternoon on Sunday and recover. Ahhhh....thank you!

Monday, I had to work, but our Nanny took the kids to "Noon Year's Eve" at the Children's Museum. I wish I could have been there - but it wasn't to be this year...sob.

On New Year's Day, we took in the Van Gough exhibit at the Denver Art Museum and it was EXCEPTIONAL. It's the only stop in the USA and people are coming from all over the country to see the collection.  We are so lucky to live in a "large cow town" that has the caliber to bring in exhibits like this. I bought the tickets a couple weeks ago, thinking the morning after New Year's Eve would be slow. Boy, was I wrong! It was sold out before we even arrived.

G drifted off to sleep, but F appointed himself the "welcoming committee" and said "HI" to EVERYONE - hundreds and hundreds of times!

After, we went for a family lunch and F continued his "job" - picking up no less than five 20-something girls.

And now for something special...here he is in all his glory:

Enjoy!