Fun

Fun around the house

Fun in the wagon...they love to get in the "wa-wa"


Fun at the park


Fun with sidewalk chalk


Fun spinning around...

ANIMALS

A few weekends ago we went to a local zoo. The girls really had a great time running about and feeding the animals. The girls (especially Brooke) were very brave around the animals...much improved since our time in Houston where they were scared of tiny little lap dogs. The girls fed and pet sheep and goats (and these animals were aggressive!). They also touched rabbits, a llama (which ended when he bit D's knee), and a camel. They desperately tried to pet a duck but were unable to catch one. The pictures that I got were not that great as it apparently takes two adults to monitor two very mobile 17 month olds.

17 months old

Well since I did a giant update posting about what all they are doing, this will be quick. The girls turned 17 months old on Easter. They are just so cute! Audrey has been walking around with her hands behind her back...adorable! They continue to love to be outdoors and go to parks. Audrey can blow a bubble (Brooke is still working on blowing air out rather than up). The girls continue to copy each other in almost everything...even if they have just seen their sister getting in trouble for it (Audrey banging her milk cup and losing it, followed immediately by Brooke banging her cup!)

Here is a little video of them on the slide outside. They have mastered climbing up the steps, which I think is quite remarkable. Sometimes they slide sitting up and sometimes they flip over onto their bellies as in this video.

EASTER

I went to Florida the Thursday before Easter and got back on Sunday morning, and while I was gone the grandparents were in charge. The girls had lots of fun and were not devastated, even in the tiniest way, that I was gone. They loved to say Papa over and over and go find their granddaddy.

The girls with their first Easter baskets-made by Grandma Di.

Watching Daddy hide the eggs

The hunt...it was cold so they had to wear jackets over their sleeveless Easter dresses!

Enjoying the spoils of the hunt...especially the Little People chicken (which we have already lost!)

Egg Hunt Part 1

On April 4, my moms of multiples group had an egg hunt at a local park (in VA park frequently does not mean playground equipment but just nature area and that is what it was for this). The girls had lots of fun picking up the eggs and putting them in their baskets....at least until they realized that there were things IN the eggs. Once that discovery was made, they just sat and opened the eggs to get the stuff out of them. Brooke then wore a little bunny whistle from the hunt around her neck for the rest of the day and kept trying to blow into it and make it work.

Getting ready to HUNT!

HUNTING...it obviously was not difficult to find the eggs!

What?!? There are things in the eggs!!

Looking through their loot

What's up with the girls...

Walking: Both (Audrey for about 6 weeks) girls are full-time walkers - both indoors and out. They are really adept at walking, even on uneven surfaces. Brooke is super fast and is officially a runner....unfortunately she frequently is running AWAY from me.Weight: We went to the doctor's for Audrey's weight follow-up and .....she was a little star. They were just hoping that she would stay on her little curve (rather than the plateau that she had been on) but she in fact jumped up! She weighed 21 lbs and 7 oz (this is 1 lb 2 oz in the past 6 weeks!). Unfortunately the office was quite busy and so Brooke did not get an official weigh in. But by holding her with me on the scale at home, she seems to be around 24 or 25 lbs.

Body Parts: The girls are super good at pointing to body parts, though sometimes they get confused if you are asking them to point to someone else's and they will just point to theirs....we are working on that. These are the ones that they seem to consistently get correct: feet and toes (all the same), knees, legs, belly, elbow (don't know where that came from), arms, hands and fingers, back, head, and all the major parts of the face (though occasionally cheeks and chin get reversed).

Denise - this is for you: Audrey with Matthew Musselwhite

Talking: At their 15 month checkup, the doctor gave us "credit" for 3 maybe 4 words (gah gah being one of them for hair bow!). All of a sudden they are talking up a storm. A lot of it is still gibberish, but now the gibberish seems to be starting with the correct sounds at least! Here is a list of words that they are saying a lot (I am sure there are others, but these are the ones that popped into my mind first):

Mommy ("Ma ma or Ma meee")
I need/want that or gimme that ("Ma meee" repeatedly)
Daddy ("Da da or Da deee")
baby ("babeee")
ball ("bah")
bye ("bah bah" with waving)
hi/hello ("hey")
duck ("duh" usually said repeatedly with much excitement)
meow and moo ("mah")
doggy ("Do-ee")
up ("uh uh" followed by "pah pah pah" that is just air)
down ("dah")
more ("moh")
bubble (bub bub)
Grayer (one of their friend's name - Audrey really says this as she walks around with his picture in the nursery!)
They don't really say no much but they will very vehemently shake their heads no when they don't want something...usually food that we are trying to make them eat! When they are through eating, they will rub their hands together to let us know. However, you must respond quickly and get them down or food will start flying.

They pretty much correctly answer what sound does a sheep or chicken make. When in doubt, Brooke's answer to any animal question is bah bah.

They love to talk on any phone and will hold it up to their ear and say "Hi" and then babble away.

Other Interesting (at least to me) Factoids:

• The girls love to do the "Itsy, Bitsy Spider" and will put their fingers together and do some of the motions..ADORABLE. They also like to do the beep beep part of "Wheels on the bus"
• They will hold up one finger if you ask them how old they are.
• TEETH!! The girls have a ton! They both have 15 teeth through the skin! Does this ever stop??
  
• They have been less than pleasant during diaper changes. As one friend said, I break a sweat changing them.
• Audrey has a hilarious temper. When she gets mad, it really sounds like she is cussing out whatever object is in her way.
• They have gotten good at using silverware...they are great stabbers with their forks, but their scooping still needs some work.
• Whenever you say "poop" one or both of them will make noises (ie grunt) like they are pooping....HILARIOUS!!
• Unfortunately they are not the sensitive little souls that get upset when you say "no" in a very firm voice (they just smile and continue on their merry way) so I have gone to the library to read up on discipline strategies...wish us luck!

AND THEY ARE OFF

Here are the girls ready to race with their friend Spencer!

FARM ANIMALS part 2

We went back to Frying Pan Park last week to play on the playground and see the farm animals. The girls, especially Audrey, were very interested in the animals this time. We saw cows, sheep, goats, pigs, a turkey, a peacock, chickens, and ducks. It was a great place to continue talking about animal sounds. Their favorite to say is the chicken - bock bock.

For Crystal

Fun with the family...

My sister and I took the girls to the Houston Children's Museum where they have a recently remodeled "Tot Spot" which was perfect for the girls (though you must be there as soon as they open or you have to wait to get in)! We had a blast...and it was fun to use man-to-man defense.

Playing trains with their cousin Will...who the girls LOVED to play with!This is the best picture I could get of all 4 of them...note that all 4 of them are not even in the picture.