Playing at the mall

I finally got the guts to take the girls into the little playground at the mall. I was always worried about the other kids, keeping an eye on both, etc. But today, I was a real woman. Some of the equipment there was perfect for all the things the girls need to work on right now. Particularly with Rachel. Many of the statues and things are at a perfect height for her to pull up on and kneel while playing. Plus, who doesn't love a new thing to crawl on?? We had one little mishap . . . . we were playing on a toy when another girl, probably 4 or so, come up and sat on the toy, practically taking up the whole thing. She just sat there, even after I said hi and asked her what her name was. Didn't say a word. Her mom came over and asked her to get up so that "the babies could play." She started throwing a temper tantrum like 4 year olds do. Just screaming and yelling. Ava did not like this. So she started crying. Poor girl (Ava, not the 4 year old). But that ended quickly. And the mom made the girl come over and apologize later, haha.

Needless to say I cleaned the girls with about fifty wipes after we left there. Don't worry.

Here are some pictures to illustrate.

Monday morning sunshine

Good afternoon! Girls are sleeping soundly, staying cool with their fans on. Another warm and gorgeous day outside. I was excited cuz I got to dress the girls in cute little jean skirts today =) Very flashy. We took a short drive to a park in our neighborhood and went on the swings for a little bit, did a few slides. It's hard because there are so many more things I know I could do with them, but its just difficult when its two against one! I need a little helper when I go out =) Kristi had to use the car for a lunch meeting, so we came back and went outside for a little stroller ride. My mom, dad, and Zack came out for a little bit. This was my dad's first time meeting the girls. Of course he thought they were adorable (duh!). While Ava was busy deciding whether she wanted to be near the dog or not, Rachel was busy stealing my dad's sunglasses.

I'm starting to develop a theory on toys for babies. I say we ban buying toys from stores. Thus far, the things I've noticed the girls to be most interested in are: Sunglasses, necklaces, earrings, buttons, things attached to their shirts, the velcro on their shoes, barrettes, their socks, cell phones, and of course paper.

Another PT appointment this afternoon after nap. Will update if anything new comes up!

Play at the Park

Finally a nice day outside! Sunny, warm, and beautiful! Almost time for flip flops! The girls and I went to Cerny Park to enjoy the sunshine and the swings! Swings were a big hit, as usual. I had decided to let the girls crawl around on some of the plastic equipment but then to my dismay soon realized that it was all still wet from yesterday! Bummer.

We had a wonderful lunch of cheese stuffed ravioli. Oi. Have you ever tried to wipe off millions of tiny little cheese particles from a wiggling one year old?? You should try it sometime. But it was worth it cuz they LOVED it! I could tell by the lack of food on the floor. It wouldn't be such a big deal to clean up if they had a dog, maybe I should bring Zack over to wipe the floor clean! =)

We get to pick mommy up from work today! Yippee!

Soooo fun!

This morning was SO great. It was pretty dreary and rainy this morning, so AGAIN, there went
my plans for the zoo. I'll get there sometime. I figured the park would be wet, even if it wasn't raining. I went to the mall yesterday. So this left me with very few options. So I thought hey, why not take the girls to MY house!? I OK'd it with Kristi, since we do have a dog and our house isn't necessarily "baby proof." I first got the girls in the stroller to walk over (we live about 2 blocks away from each other for those of you who didn't know) and of course as soon as I started to walk out the garage it started to pour. Soooo, into the car we go. As soon as I got to the house I began to think I might have a problem. I had to get both girls into the house, which meant I'd have to set one down (rambunctious dog jumping around at the prospect of two little things to play with), or give one to my mom (new person, only seen once or twice, could be sketchy). Decided my dog was more dangerous than my mom, so gave Rachel to my mom while I went back to the car. My mom held her facing out so she could watch me go to the car and know I wasn't leaving her, she was a little iffy for a second, but then was fine. We took the girls into the living room to explore the new territory. Zack, our dog, was totally psyched. My mom and I realized that he had probably never even seen babies before! I'm sure his first thought when he saw them was "New toys!" I think he was probably pretty excited that there were these things that were actually at his eye level instead of towering above him. All Zack wanted to do was lick them and be near them. Rachel was okay around him, she looked more annoyed than anything. Kind of scrunching her face when he would come up to lick her. Ava had a death grip on my shirt for the first couple minutes, but then began to ease up. I think seeing Rachel handling it, helped her to know it was okay. Every time Zack went near Ava she still didn't really like it, but neither cried! Yay! It probably would have helped if he wasn't so excited about them being there.

We let the girls play our piano for a little bit, which turned out to be hilarious! Its an electric piano, so there are buttons you can press to make different melodies play, so you can only imagine all the different sounds that they were making! I have an absolutely wonderful video of Rachel dancing to the music . . . . but unfortunately for all of you, I don't think you can put videos on here! Ooops. Maybe K&K will have a way to send it out.

All and all I think it was very exciting for the girls to be in a new and different environment. Its so nice to be somewhere new and not have to have them strapped into a car or a stroller. I think my mom kind of enjoyed having some babies around too =) We think Zack's next toy should be a baby . . . . .

Enjoy some pictures!

Pictures galore!

I don't know if thats actually how you spell galore, it looks funny. Today I went to the mall with our little ones. I was hoping for the zoo, but this weather isn't quite cooperating (Kristi's mom will agree). The mall is always nice, moms and strollers everywhere. Cold mornings are when babies and children take over! I put the girls in one of those quarter-operated machines (didn't actually start it) and they were very interested in the buttons and things to touch and of course put their mouths on, ick. This is where those wipes come in. After walking around some more, I passed a jewelry store and picked up a catalog. Yes, I'm a girl, and I like shiny things. (Rob, boyfriend, if you're reading this, I'm sorry I can't help it). We sat down by the fountain to watch for a bit, and the girls seemed very interested in my catalog. So I tore it into two and gave one to each. This is the best idea I ever had. Paper is the new toy. I started scrunching up the paper in front of them and making noises (don't ask me to repeat these) and I have never seen them laugh so hard. Well, at least laugh at me, they always laugh at Keith. I tried to capture the laughter, but pictures never capture it all, and stupid me, couldn't remember how to do the video. So, enjoy my pictures! Hope it makes you smile and brightens up your day. And remember, a piece of paper isn't just a piece of paper =)

Today seemed to fly by. One second I was feeding breakfast, and all the sudden it was time to go to physical therapy! I'm waiting every second to hear one of the girls first real words, its coming soon, I can feel it! Physical therapy was pretty interesting today. It was a totally better experience when the girls weren't so upset like they were last time. It's so interesting to watch as Julie "manipulates" the girls bodies as they are moving, in order to better develop certain parts of their bodies. Julie was explaining that Rachel is mostly using her back muscles, which is why she crawls the way she does. So we need to help her activate and build up her stomach muscles to help her to crawl on all fours instead of her trademark army crawl. It was almost a relief to hear that we don't need to focus so much on Rachel walking, but on crawling on all fours, getting out from a sit, and kneeling while playing. Maybe as soon as Rachel can accomplish these goals it will be no time till she's walking!

I'm hoping tomorrow we can go to the zoo! I think it might be nice weather, but if not, later this week.

Rachel loves her toys!

Come on now, isn't being IN the toy basket so much cooler than just standing next to it?? She figured this out all on her own.

Well, another day, another nap. Its so amazing to watch how the girls are unable to do something one day and then the next are doing it all the time. Rachel, who has been having a much harder time standing/walking/getting down than Ava, is becoming much more confident when it comes to getting down from standing up. Ava goes back and forth between her "dismount" of choice - plopping down on her behind and slowly, carefully putting her hand out to let herself down. Ava did take a few steps today holding on to me with only one hand! I imagine her saying in baby talk, "Look mom, one hand!"

The girls are both pointing, or their own rendition of pointing. Which for some reason is so cute . . . We sat in the living room looking up through the sky-light windows at the clouds moving by. Both girls pointed up at the windows and made some noises, which I translated as "Oooo . . . Ahhhhh."

If they could have it their way, it would be noodles for every meal!

A few funny quotes over the last week:

"Oh my gosh your girls eating noodles are so cute!" (This is true)

"Your girls look EXACTLY like you." (I didn't tell her they weren't mine)

"It takes two mighty fine looking people to make girls that beautiful." (I would insert a picture of Keith and Kristi here, but I don't have one . . . . )

We're having some pooping issues over here. As in, no poop. See, I told you there would be poop tales.

Your wish is my command

You wanted a blog?? You've got one. Gone are the days of forwarding emails about the lives of our little ones. Now you can see for yourself! Enjoy!