1/30/05 Lucas took three consecutive steps today! GO TEAM! Also, the babies ate an entire can of spaghettios, (plus abut 2 lbs of other foods) today. I guess they are hitting a growth spurt or something, because they are eating like we starve them or something! I have never seen two small children put away so much food! The babies have decided that they need to get into everything in sight. I thought we had baby proofed, but they have definitely proven me wrong! Lucas has figured out every single possible way to get into the fireplace. As you can see from the picture, he crawls uner the walker and sticks his little hand up into the fireplace. What a goof. Plus, he swings the doors to the TV cabinet. The good news is, he and Soph are both short enough that he can't bonk her or himself in the head with the door. They are a TRIP! They took a 2 hour nap in their cribs today, which if you know anything about their napping recently, you know that is a HUGE deal! I was so proud of them! I actually got some laundry done and the kitchen cleaned! Now, if only we could do this every day, we might actually have a livable house (clean wise...).
I forgot to add yesterday that we introduced the babies to the wonderful world of kazoos! They love to hear us play them, and they like to chew on them. They haven't quite figured out how to make them work yet though. Soph carries hers around everywhere. We call it her security kazoo.
1/29/06 We finally got a camera and there are new pictures up in the January album! They are getting so big! They are still only taking a few steps in a row before crashing into something, mostly the floor, but they are getting much more sure of themselves on their feet. We all played outside today for a while, seeing as it was around 65 degrees and sunny. Lucas and Soph raced downt he driveway in their walkers, and then took turns pushing eachother in the little wagon up and down the sidewalk. CUTE pictures! Lucas has founda new favorite song (Tone Loc, Funky Cold Medina...), he laughs through the entire thing and dances. I had the music on the other day and both babies were holding on to the coffee table and dancing. It was the cutest thing I think I have ever seen. They both bend their knees, then Lucas bounces and Soph swivels her hips. Unfortunately, I couldn't get the video camera turned on fast enough. Oh well, I'll catch it another time.
Lucas is still doing his Elvis face, and also is starting to refuse to eat unless he feeds it to himself (Actually, Soph is doing this frequently too). That's fine with some foods, but when it comes to mashed potatoes and soup and things like that, well it just spells disaster. Sophia, at dinner tonight, was working on eating a roll. She has gotten very good at biting pieces off of big things and chewing them up, then biting more. So we have been giving her about 1/3 of a roll at a time and she usually does really well with it. Tonight, however, Sadie (our dog) was also interested in Soph's roll, and being the kind hearted dog lover that she is, Soph was sharing. She would take a bite off of the roll, then hold it over the edge of the high chair for Sade to take a bite. Then she would pull it back up and take another bite, and so on. I would worry about the germs, but it's a little late considering Sadie likes to kiss the babies on their faces too. Oh well, I guess we're building up the immune systems.
Oh, and it turns out what I thought were kisses on my tummy and arms and skin from the babies were really just the beginnings of raspberries! I thought my sweet little babies were showing me signs of affection, but NO, now they have started blowing when they do it, or putting their lips together and spitting( not real spit, just blowing out) right on me. HMMM. Oh well, at least they are proud of themselves and they laugh when they do it. I guess that makes it ok. :)
Will and I laugh all the time because we can't go 30 seconds anymore without finding the babies into something they shouldn't be. Why is it that they own like every toy under the sun, but they fight over the TV remote, or anything else that they shouldn't be playing with? And now that they are taller, all the stuff on the end tables has to go (as we decided after Lucas pulled the candle (not lit) over and tried to pull the lamp too). And they get so creative with the ways they can manuever too. They are using their index fingers to poke at things, and they figure things out so quickly now. Forget child locks and outlet plugs, we need mini straight jackets, or at least leashes!
1/24/06 We're walking, we're walking! The babies are still only taking a few steps alone, but today, Lucas made it across the living room and Sophia made it down the hallway on their feet! We put our hands on either side of their ribs to help them balance and they would bump into them if they started to fall or get off balance, but other than that, they walked (on their own - no hand holding or holding onto anything). It basically was like bumper bowling, only without the ball or pins, and you didn't have to rent special shoes, and... well, ok, bad analogy, but you get the idea...
Sophia got a baby doll for Christmas and both babies kiss her. Lucas hugs her too. Usually though, these displays of affection are followed shortly by either trying to poke her eyes out, or tossing her, hitting her, dropping her, etc. Hey, I mean, how much can we really expect here? The kissing is adorable though. Since Phia is still figuring out her tongue, I think the baby doll got her first taste of French kissing too. Oh well, we all gotta start sometime, right?
Also, since the sun finally came out today (the last 3 days have been rainy and cold - yuck!), we went outside to play. It was 60 out, so we put on jackets and hauled the walkers out to the driveway. i didn't realize that our driveway had a slant to it, toward the road, until I got the babies in their walkers and off they went. It was like a race toward the street! Luckily, I can run faster than they can, and our street isn't busy. The good news is, I stopped them before they "ran" into the road. But they LOVED it! They were both giggling and grinning! Those little feet can MOVE! We also brought the little radio flyer wagon out and they took turns walking up and down the sidewalk with it (over and over and over...). The neighbors came out and couldn't believe how big the babies have gotten while we have been "hibernating." Both babies played with the grass and leaves, and loved listening to the outside sounds. Overall, a very good day.
1/23/06 Well, we're still working on walking, but the steps are coming easier now. It's amazing to watch them learn and progress....
Lucas has taken up what I call "drive by puzzling". We got a set of three big wooden puzzles (with three pieces in each puzzle) that sit in a woodens tand for christmas. Lucas has decided it's a good idea several times a day to crawl up to the puzzle rack, pull the pieces out of the top puzzle and disperse them around the room (as far as he can throw them), then pull the next puzzle out and work his way down doing the same with each. He then crawls away and finds something else to do. Mama gets to spend all sorts of time locating the puzzle pieces, then putting them back together and stacking them back up. Phia takes the puzzle pieces and holds the handles. She then bangs them together like cymbals. It's cute to watch. She usually does it when Lucas is playing one of the instruments from the bee bop drum set. Soph also climbs the soft gate. She takes steps up and up and up, although her feet slip down because it's mesh. Lucas figured out he can push his face into the gate and see around into the kitchen if he turns his head. I will be in the middle of making dinner and I'll see this little face smashed into the mesh and facing me, just watching. Who knew they could be so silly!
1/20/06 So we've been completely out of commission for a few days now. Our internet service was down, and in the same week, our digital camera died. So we are having a rough time! Finally, our service is back up and we're hoping to buy a new camera this weekend. Gotta keep the pictures coming! So much has happened since I last wrote.
Both Lucas and Sophia have started to take their first steps. Ironically enough, they both started taking REAL steps on their own on Tuesday (1/ 17) while the Physical Therapist was here! They had been starting to a few days before, but the steps started coming in 2's on Tuesday... hmm.. that makes sense I guess. WAHOO FOR BABIES! or not babies, as the case may be, I guess they are now toddlers? I can't believe it's really happening, especially after all they've been through and the fact that they should only be about 10 months old. They are just SO big! It's amazing to watch them stand on their own for what seems like FOREVER.
They both do things while they stand alone, like play with toys or dance. IT's SO cute, and now they are starting to take a few steps, and with one small step for mankind, they are no longer my teeny tiny NICU babies. It's a little sad actually.
They both do things while they stand alone, like play with toys or dance. IT's SO cute, and now they are starting to take a few steps, and with one small step for mankind, they are no longer my teeny tiny NICU babies. It's a little sad actually.
Lucas has started to curl up his lip like Elvis. He does it all the time now, and I'm not sure why. I know I laughed at him when I saw him do it, so now he does it all the time, and sometimes when he gets a reaction, he will grunt too when he does it. He's my little hunk of burnin love. The other day, I was lying on the floor on my side "talking" to Sophia who was lying down facing me. Lucas was playing on my legs and my hip was exposed. He crawled up and kissed it! It tickled, so I laughed and he belly laughed. He did it again about 3 more times and then laughed each time. What a goof! He has also figured out how to ring the bell on the little radio flyer bike they got for Christmas. Ding Ding Ding, all day long. Wait, it's more like, Ding- hahaha, Ding-hahaha....
Sophia crawls and stands around saying "Dum Dum Dum". She switched to "Gum" for a while, but then back to "Dum" again. Everything is Dum around our house these days. Phia has also learned to pull her bib off when she's done eating. We'll be in the middle of feeding her(or what WE think is the middle), and we'll look up and she'll have just ripped her bib off (velcro OR snap) and thrown it over the edge of the high chair. It is just about impossible to get her to eat after that. I guess she knows when she is done!
The babies got to play (briefly) in a rare Memphis snowfall this week. It lasted about 10 minutes and was 60 degrees the following day. That's when we realized the camera was dead, so I got video of it instead. Hopefully we'll have new pictures up soon. It's amazing to watch these guys grow up, and I'm so glad you can see and hear about them grow too!
1/15/06 Lucas and Sophia had Christmas again this weekend when Papa George brought down all their presents from Indiana! They has so much fun rediscovering what they had already opened. Dada and Papa George put together their trike and their push wagon and they had a great time playing with them. Soph has ear infections again, so we are back on antibiotics, but she seems to be feeling ok. We already ran out and had to replace the batteries on the play table, which is their all time favorite toy from Christmas! Other than that, we are just hanging out, standing around holding on to nothing, and trying desperately to find a toy box for all of these toys scattered around the house! Check back soon for new updates!
1/10/06 As you can see from the photos, the babies are giving mama a workout. They are really getting around pretty well now, and have figured out how to put toys down on the floor and step on them to get higher, like trying to climb onto the couch.... GRRRR. Apparantly, toys serve MANY functions, like steps for example. They both have also become very defiant, which is cute right now,but I have a feeling we are going to really have our hands full. They both used to at least somewhat listen when we said no, but now they just look at us and laugh. Especially Soph... she is very ... um, independent. We're lovin' them though. We've found a new favorite breakfast food. It's strawberries and cream oatmeal. I get the low sugar kind, and it's pink like bubble gum ,but they LUV it! Also, both babies have figured out what teeth are for, so mealtime takes FOREVER! They both pick up something, and take little tiny bites off of it and chew it up. Then another bite off the same food. For those of you who know what puffs are, they bite the tiny ends off the star shaped puffs.... oh well, I guess they figure, if they had to go through all that pain to get the teeth through, they might as well put them to use! Sophia continues to love touching hair, it doesn't matter if she is screaming as loud as she can, if you give her hair to touch, she starts laughing and smiling. Lucas and Soph both love it when i scream really high pitched (like Diz from You can't do that on Television, for those of you who are old enough to remember that show on Nickelodean). Who knows why it is so funny, but it works. Also, we have discovered the wonderful world of Raffi in the car. What a lifesaver, although if I have to hear "Ducks like rain" one more time this week... I have to say, I have the best job in the whole world despite it all. :)
1/5/06 I forgot to mention that both babies have figured out how to either rub their hand or finger over their lips while they make noise, so they make the "bubububububu" sound. They had an entire conversation with eachother over breakfast like that. After that, they just talked for about 5 minutes, just back and forth baba, dada, aaah, mama, etc. Very cute. They are forever talking and laughing at eachother. I think they have jokes they just don't want to share with the mama.....
1/4/06 Ok, no new "milestones" to speak of but the babies are doing crazy stuff. First, they are sick, both of them, so we are having rough days. Lucas figured out today how to take his pants off. I'm not sure how he did it, because he didn't crawl out of them. He was standing at the coffee table, then he sat down and then stood up and was pantsless...... He was so proud of himself that he did it again tonight for Dada! Lucas also gave Sophia a kiss today. She was crying and he just crawled up and put his lips right on her cheek! she didn't stop crying completely, but it helped!
We found out that Sophia is ticklish on the palms of her hands. She's ticklish everywhere,but the palms of her hands??? She's an odd one....
Soph got to bite on Lucas' hand today. He stuck it in her mouth and she bit him. He cried, but then stuck it right back in again. Who knows what they are thinking....
Also, The babies love to play with the "Puffs" container. Veggie puffs have become a main snack food when we are on the go (or not), and they love to play with the container. Today, I was trying to do a quick clean up on the kitchen and I couldn't figure out why the babies were being so quiet. I peeked over the breakfast bar, and one of the our two monkeys has figured out how to get the lid off the puffs container. There they were, partners in crime, with puffs spread all over the carpet, helping themselves to an early morning snack. Sneaky sneaky... But so CUTE!
I'll update with more soon :)
1/3/06 Wow! It's strange to write 2006.... It's hard to believe all that has happened since I wrote last. The babies are growing up so fast and are learning so many new things. We had a wonderful Christmas, and the babies had a great time. We drove up to Indianapolis the week before Christmas and stayed through Christmas day. Then drove up to Chicago to see WIll's mom and John for a w few days, then back to Indy for New years. The babies got sick (colds) while we were in Indy, then Lucas continued to get worse when we went to Chicago, which resulted in an emergency room visit. He was diagnosed with the beginning stages of pnemonia after a chest Xray and a an RSV wash (which came back negative... thank goodness). He's been on heavy duty antibiotics since, and seems be to feeling better. Many long nights for mama and dada though. Soph still has a cold, but hers hasn't seemed to get nearly as bad as Lucas'.
Soph started to Pat a cake/clap while we were away. She gets so happy and grins and claps her little hands together. It's so adorable. Every time anyone says pat a cake or "yeah!" she claps. She crawls so fast and pulls up without any trouble at all. she stands on her own for several seconds and often just lets go of whatever she is holding to practice. She steps all the time and is working on walking... I think we are pretty close. She figured out how to unwrap presents and had a great time doing it, although the paper and ribbons are still as much fun as the toys. Soph tried stairs and could do a few in a row, but got scared after that. She mastered the single stair from my mom's kitchen to the sun room though!
Lucas waves bye bye now and says AhAh like bye bye when he does it. He too is crawling so fast and pulling up on everything. He also mastered the single stair at Nana's house. He stands alone for a few seconds too and both babies are walking behind their walker toys. Lucas has 7 teeth now and is working an 8th one through. Soph has 4 and is happy with those. We're hoping for a small break from teething for a while, although I'm sure it won't happen.
We are so proud of these little munchkins and we can't wait to see what the new year will bring for them. Check out the pictures from our trip, they are a riot! AND we got a white Christmas! The babies' first experience with snow. As you can see, Soph wasn't such a big fan, even in her snow suit!
Posted by our3babies
at 10:05 PM CST
