11 Months

The babies turned 11 months yesterday. That means that in one short month, we'll no longer have babies, and instead we'll have toddlers! How can that be!?!

Here are some photos that we took this morning. We tried to get them sitting in one spot, but they are much too wiggly. On top of that, they are both drool factories and have little colds, so they are covered in gross wetness. But, they're still pretty darned cute.

It's impossible to get a picture of them both sitting up, looking at the camera, smiling, and without their hands in their mouths (teething). This is the first attempt.

And the second attempt. That couch is pretty comfy.

I can see why Fletch just wanted to get his relax on.

And, finally a close-up.

Here they are sitting in rocking chair I had when I was a baby. My mom painted it and got it back into shape for them.

I think Fletch was thinking, "Wow, I'd rather be playing

Rock Band 2 than sitting in this chair."

As for milestones, they are pulling up and cruising a bit, but not yet walking. But, they learn new, fun stuff everyday. They love nothing more than when we're on the floor playing with them and coming over and giving us big, slobbery kisses. They also love when we read to them. If they're off playing with toys and I start reading a book, they crawl over to me, try to get in my lap, and listen to the story. It's so sweet.

As for sleeping, I'm happy to report that they are sleeping well these days. I've been hesitant to write about this for fear of breaking our good streak, but they've been sleeping through the night, from 6:45pm-5am, since the end of April. Occasionally, if they're working on a new milestone, they'll wake up a bit, but otherwise, we're in a good place right now with sleep (knock on wood). They also are taking two good naps each day, from 9:30am-11:30am and 2:30pm-4pm.

My goal for 11 months was to get them off purees and onto all table foods. I think we met that goal, and we're now just giving purees as toppings on things. It was a bit tough at first because Fletch really loved his mushy foods, but now they both love eating real food. Favorites include pancakes, bagel thins, hummus, meatballs, chicken nuggets, tortellini, watermelon, peaches, squash, nectarines. We're trying new stuff everyday. Our next goal is to get them off formula and bottles and onto milk and sippy cups by 12 months. We'll see how that goes.

Happy 11-Month Birthday, Piper and Fletch!

Short and Sweet

This weekend, Mom and Danny made a quick, but perfect visit. They arrived on Saturday, after Eric and I got home from running, and stayed until mid-day Sunday. We had fun playing on Saturday afternoon, and then after the babies went to bed, Eric and I headed out for dinner. I think the last time we went out at night was back in November. Yikes!

On Sunday morning, Mom, Danny, the babies, and I went to Silver Diner for breakfast. Piper and Fletch did so well, and they couldn't get enough of the pancakes. It was the perfect way to spend a morning.

(This is a horrible picture of me, but you can see how cute the babies look in their high chairs at the restaurant.)

Mom and Danny will back for their birthday in a few weeks, and we can't wait.

In the meantime, I've been thinking of a few other posts for the blog. I hope to capture "A Day in the Life" with the babies next. Here's a sneak peak of what a typical day includes. These pictures were taken at Eric's mom's house.

Fun in the Pack n Play before naps!

Music lessons with Eric's mom!

I hope to post the rest later this week.

First Zoo Trip

We made our first trip to the zoo with the babies this weekend. We ventured out to the Leesburg Animal Park, which is about an hour from our house. It's more of a petting zoo than a regular zoo, but it definitely has more animals than the National Zoo. Every time we go there, the animals are always inside "out to lunch" or "on a Starbucks run" or whatever is it that animals do that means they aren't on display.

Anyway, this zoo had lots of animals to pet and feed. Here I am feeding a fallow deer. Fletch was not impressed.

This was the antelope that had the longest tongue and neck I'd ever seen on an animal that wasn't a giraffe. He gave Eric and I a good lick and nearly ate Fletch's toes.

This was the alpaca. They were pretty darned cute.

And here are the adorable baby goats. The fact that I fed these goats means I'm officially an adults, as I overcame the trauma I endured here when I was bitten by a baby goat at age four or five while trying to feed it.

And here's Eric braving the baby goats.

We had a great time. We're so excited to start doing more "kid stuff" with Piper and Fletch now that they are getting a little older. Our next adventure will probably be the beach. Stay tuned...

New Pastime

Sorry it's been so long since I've updated. We've been really busy between work, running, crawling, playing, etc. But, we've also been having fun. As evidence of this, here are photos of Piper and Fletch's new favorite pasttime--crawling around the kitchen playing with tupperware.

Who knew something so inexpensive could get such a big smile from Fletch!?!

This is their favorite cabinet. They try to open all the others, but this is the only one that either isn't locked or that they don't yet have the dexterity to open. It contains all their tupperware. I no longer need to fight to find matching bowls and lids because these items now spend most of their time all over our kitchen floor.

Please excuse the fact that Piper's diaper is falling off.

She's figured out how to pull them off if she doesn't have shorts on. Sigh.

In addition to the daily tupperware party, Piper has a new love of the bathroom. She tries to escape in there every chance she gets. This is her after she scrambled in there as soon as I opened the door.

Both babies are full speed crawling now. Piper has learned how to pull up on most things, but Fletch still hasn't discovered that trick yet, although I'm sure it will be any day. They are at such a fun age. They do something new and funny every time we turn around. Eric and I are so blessed to have such wonderful kiddos.

July 4th Weekend

We had a great long weekend with the babies. Their big fun was going to the spray park and having a picnic with Eric's parents. Here's Piper goofing around on the table.

And here's Piper being a cutie.

Fletch is still warming up to the water, but at least he looks cute doing it.

Piper obviously has no issues with the water.

And with some encouragement, neither does Fletch.

Other than the spray park, we spent much of the weekend staying cool in the house. For some reason, we couldn't get Fletch's hair under control. He's starting to sport that mad scientist look.

Their weekend also included spending lots of time at their new favorite location--the sliding glass doors. The very fun attributes of these doors include the other babies reflected in the glass and its proximity to the air vent on the floor. They can't get enough of the vent.

They also spent time in baby jail, just hanging out.

We had lots of fun, and now Piper and Fletch have celebrated every major holiday, since there aren't any other big ones between now and their birthdays next month. Yes, you read that right--I said their birthdays next month. Can you believe they'll turn one so soon!?! Time to start preparing for their party.

Sharing

When I was pregnant, my friend Erin, who is a SuperMom with four terrific kids, told me that there comes a point when having twins is actually easier than one baby sometimes. I think we reached that point, and it's simply adorable. We set up the babyjail in the living room, and Piper and Fletch will happily play together in there. I caught them sharing this toy yesterday while giggling and "talking" to each other with loud squeals. My heart nearly burst from the cuteness. Love these little babies.