What's that, Lassie?

Every day, the girls are getting better about communicating. In fact, just yesterday, Grace uttered her first no. Many more to come, I'm sure.

 But when they get excited, their brains tend to go mushy and all they can say is "uh! uh! uh! uh!" And they tug on my hand and yank me in the direction of the crisis.

 A couple of days ago, Grace came screeching out of our bedroom and was all "uh! uh! uh!" So, I followed her and when we got into the room, she pointed to the door and looked at me with those crazy eyes that say "Mom, fix this!"

 And there was Claire, with her face pressed up against the door to the sunroom. She was trapped.

 This happens about every other day because Claire REALLY enjoys shutting herself in rooms and waiting for assistance. Damsel in distress??

 So, when Grace came running and grunting at me today, I thought Claire was probably stuck somewhere and needed saving. So, I said "Grace, what is it!?!" And she promptly sat on her bottom, stuck her foot in my face and said, "uh, uh, uh!!!!"

 I bent down for a closer look. A crisis, indeed.

 There was a smooshed piece of banana wedged between her toes.

 That, my friend, is what you get for throwing your food on the floor.

Rock Stars

Everyone needs a hobby.

Claire has already found hers.



She's a rock picker. (And occasionally, a rock thrower.)

She will sit in the driveway for hours picking rocks. Well, hours in baby time. It translates to about 10 minutes in adult time.

Sometimes, she pulls Grace in. But Grace usually only participates for 3.5 minutes. IN BABY TIME. I'll let you do the math on that one.








This new hobby is especially nice because they love the independence and I get to sit on my front porch, drink my tea and pretend that I'm relaxing.

Win-win.




In other news ... Isn't this picture kinda creepy? Like maybe they are getting ready to eat me? Or knock me over and steal my lunch money?

Emphasis On No. 3

Love it.

Relish it.

Forgive it.

Respect it.

Understand it.

Appreciate it.

Because there is nothing like a sister's love.

Thomas Edison Would Be Proud

Uh. Uh. Uh. UH! UH! UH! UHHHHHHHH!

This, along with Bup, was our girls' chosen means of communication. Whenever they wanted something, they would grunt. Whenever they didn't want something, they would grunt louder. And if you weren't hurrying fast enough, they reached for their whip and screamed their grunts.



Until a couple of weeks ago. It was like a light bulb went on for Claire and she finally understood what we were trying to get her to do.

She can now say the first syllable of almost all the words we ask her to attempt. And if she can't quite make out the sounds, she gives it a good try.

I cannot begin to tell you how awesome this is. The other day, for example, she was pointing to something and saying "Neh, neh, neh." I was a little slow, but as soon as I saw the edge of a necklace hiding behind a lamp, I knew immediately what she wanted. I said "Necklace?" She smiled big and said "Yaaaa."

It was such a profound moment. She told me what she wanted, I understood, and she got what she wanted.

If we were still grunting, I would have been clueless and she would have left crying in a fit of frustration.

Grace is being typical Grace: completely unpredictable. When I first thought about writing this post, I was going to share my opinion that Grace's light bulb — understanding we wanted her to try to say the words — just hadn't lit up yet. But then a few days ago, she was saying "dow," telling the cat to get off the table. So, I've changed my thinking with her. She's caught somewhere between not knowing what we want, not having the development to get the words out and knowing exactly what we want, and flipping us the bird. I have a feeling this will be a trend with this little one.

Driving Along in my Automobile

This past weekend we visited my parents.

The girls didn't nap well. They didn't go to bed well. But we had such an incredibly fun time. I'll let the pictures do the talking.





I'm not trying to say it was all rainbows and butterflies. There may or may not have been a carjacking.











What goes around comes around?







All in all, it was a really fantastically fun weekend.

Pictures of the Week: July 22

Just look at that ornery face. We fight the standing-in-the-chair battle every day. We win every time, but that doesn't stop her from trying again. That persistence will serve her well later in life.




Hilarious. Just freaking hilarious.

Weirdest. Day. Ever.

In all the days and all the weeks and all the months that these lovely little girls have been with us, yesterday was by far, the weirdest day ever.

It was right after their afternoon snack. They were quietly playing in their room when Claire started crying -- like I-just-fell-down-and-broke-my-arm kind of crying. I ran in there and assessed any possible injuries. All limbs were attached. No blood. No bruises. No swollen parts.

When I picked her up to hold her, she laid her head on my chest and cried. And cried. And cried. And then Grace started crying. And I called Scott in for backup.

They both felt feverish, so we took them into our room and I had both girls on my lap while Scott went to fetch tissues. All the sudden, Claire throws up. On me. I could still see grapes. Gross.

They both started crying even harder. We changed clothes, Scott took Claire, I took Grace and we laid down on the bed.

This is where it gets really weird.

Keeping in mind, that these girls rarely (as in, next to never) lay down outside of nap/bedtime. If they do lay down, they cuddle with a pillow or a blanket for 7 seconds and then pop back up.

But yesterday was different. It was about 6 p.m. They just laid down on our chests and stayed like that for 15 minutes. For 15 minutes, they were completely still. Just breathing and blinking. And then they slowly fell asleep. During the middle of the evening. Nearly simultaneously.

We slowly, carefully turned out heads to each other. Bewilderment is the only word to describe our thoughts.

We went from fine to meltdown city to asleep in about 17 minutes.

They slept for about 30 minutes, woke up nearly simultaneously and then we finished the rest of the evening.

Weirdest. Day. Ever.

18 Months

They turned 18 months a couple of weeks ago, but the word punctual isn't even in my vocabulary any more. And their 18-month check isn't until Friday, so I'm still in the window. Right?

Sometimes I look at them walking and running and climbing and I wonder, how did we get here so fast?

Then Claire slams the door in Grace's face, Grace starts screaming and Claire starts whining because SOMEONE shut her alone in her room.

The thoughts dash out of my head as I head down the hall to repair the damage.

And that's life around here these days. Always on the move. So much in fact, that the other day, when I found Grace just laying in the middle of her room I shouted for Scott, "Look at her! What's she doing just laying there?!?"





This stage of life has ushered out old challenges and welcomed new ones. They are sleeping well, eating well (if not a tad on the picky side) and all of the motor skills seems right on target.

But they are also getting brave.



Getting hurt.



And getting independent.





The biggest challenge of raising twins at this point in life is when one is behaving badly, the other copies. And unlike with an older/younger combo, logic isn't a factor. I can't tell one to stop badly influencing the other. I just go round and round in this circle. "Stop Claire." Claire stops. "Stop Grace." Grace stops. "Stop Claire." Claire stops. And around and around until I grab the rocking horses and fling them in the other room.

One of the most delightful changes around here is their interaction with each other. The will chase each other around the house squealing in delight. And when one catches the other, they both break into giggles.

I watch them chase each other giggling and shrieking and quietly thank my lucky stars that I have these little girls. People stop us whenever we're out to comment on our little twinkies. It never fails that the last thing they say is "Cherish every moment. It goes by too fast."

I appreciate the reminder each and every time because at 18 months, I can already attest … it goes by way too fast.

Picture of the Week: July 8

In the last 12 months or so, the twinkies have bounced back and forth between Mama's girls and Daddy's girls. We're currently in Mama mode. Can you tell? Wherever I am, my little ducklings are waddling (more like flat out running) right behind me. And whenever one gets attention, the other demands some, too. Earlier this week, Claire stumbled and hit her head on the wall. I snuggled and loved her. And not even a minute later, Grace walked up to the exact location of the incident, leaned over, purposely bonked her head and started fake crying. Then she walked over to me and sat in my lap. It was all I could do to stop from laughing. Sweet little lovies.

Happy Belated 4th!

We had a fun-filled weekend with friends and family, and now we're recovering. So, here are some pictures to snack on until tomorrow.






This is about as good as it gets when I try to get them to sit still for a picture. Oh well.

Little Miss Independent

Grace is developing one heckuva independent streak. She refuses to let us help her use a spoon. She refuses to let us help her get dressed. And unlike Claire, she has no concerns about venturing away from me. Claire, on the other hand, will attempt to venture, but is always pulled back by that invisible cord that connects us.

Case in point.

Way back there, between the Cedar tree and the tree line is a teeny, tiny Grace.



In typical monkey-see-monkey-do fashion, Claire follows.



Claire stops.



Claire is yanked back by that invisible cord.



And look who it is, little miss independent.



A bit of dirt on the knee, but no worse for the wear.



Not even so much as a hello.



I think I just met my 18-month-old self.

Weird things My Kids Do: June 28

They still play with their ring stacker things from time to time -- but these days they are way more interested in using them to accessorize.








Good times. Until the rings get stuck on chubby arms and thighs. Then they pretty much just freak out.