Our Kids

Okay so we are finally in our new house and everything is up and running that is crucial, i.e. computers. HA! Jason even somehow managed to bribe me into getting him a new giant monitor. I think he has to sit back from his desk 4 feet just to see it, lol!

The girls are doing great. We had our 15 month check up and they are continuing to grow and impress the doctor. Lela was around 31+ inches and 21lb 12 oz and Piper was around 30+ inches and 21lb 2 oz. So Lela finally weighs more than Piper but she looks quite a bit taller. As they are starting to walk and lean out they both feel lighter to me but maybe that is because I carry them around all day.

They have settled back into their routine and so far show no signs of wanting to change it. They eat well, better than we do but we are all adjusting to a new healthier diet since they want to eat what you are eating. So now it is fresh fruits and veggies, lots of salad and no processed foods.

I finally posted some pictures to flickr but they are all blurry. There was too much light for my camera. I will continue to post more and do a better job:) The girls are mostly walking now with a little crawling, probably 85% walking and 15% crawling. They sign over 15 words and are getting pretty good at picking them up. They say a couple things, mostly dog and dad for Lela and dad and get for Piper (the get is directed at Rupert our golden retriever). They really couldn’t be much cuter at this stage.

Well, we’re finally getting close to getting the girls in their new home… we’ve had the house for a couple weeks now but have been waiting for some work to get done. Everything is wrapping up this week and we’ve got the movers set for Friday! I’m not sure we’ll actually stay there Friday night, but we’ll for sure be in by Sunday.

I’ve got another video in the queue… Mystique caught the girls signing (sing language) on tape. They seem to be doing really well with signing… the one we see the most often is dog, of course, but milk, light, and airplane are ramping up quickly. Lela and Piper have made their own sign for airplane — just pointing up into the sky. It’s kind of cute when they do it indoors when a lawn mower starts in the neighborhood!

Anyhow, all is well… I’m not sure that the girls are excited about their new home, but we sure are!

It is two o’clock and so far today I have managed to get poo on my hands only once, crackers on my shirt more times than I can count, dig countless bits of rock and sand out of two little mouths, fix 4 meals and 4 bottles, sing over 10 songs, change multiple diapers and pack up the girls and drive to the store only to find myself inside with things to buy and no wallet. It all sounds a bit mundane to some but for me they are some of the happiest moments of my life. I have found that having the girls has made me realize that there are no ordinary moments in life. A brief smile, a piercing cry when something doesn’t go their way, a sleepy head on your shoulder and even a squeal of delight when a plane flies overhead, everyday is the same and yet somewhat different and never ordinary:)

Being a dog mom as well as a twin mom I have many different voices (other than the ones in my head). So I have a distinct dog voice that I use when I want Rupert, our golden retriever, to move away from the girls and go lay down. The command I use is “Get!” and he know that means back up and go lay down. So the other day after our jaunt to the park, Rupert was tired and in no mood to be hasseled by the girls. When he is in this mood he is grumpy and often growls, and that I don’t like or tolerate. So I told him in my dog voice, Get Get Get!

So Lela was the one that had crawled over to pet him and she got in her little pet and then he moved on. In the meantime, Piper crawled across the room, stood up by the sofa and shook her finger at him and said Get Get Get, in her own little voice. It was so sweet and I am sure a sign of what is to come. I guess it is time to be sweet little mom and only use words that I want them to use, hmmmm….shouldn’t be too tough (LOL!)

So everyday we try to spend at least 30 minutes playing outside. Between 4-6 meals a day and two naps it is sometimes hard to get outside for too long. Anyway, we have been going to a nearby park where Lela loves to point out all the planes and dogs and Piper loves to practice walking.

Today while we were at the park, Lela was busy pushing around the stroller while Piper was crawling after her shadow. It was so cute she kept trying to catch it but it was out in front of her. Finally she laid flat on it and gave it a kiss.

They are just signing away now and can do all the signs for:
Sleep
Eat
Dog
More
Drink
Duck
Bird
Plane
Hat
and I think a few others I am forgetting. They are super cute and picking up new signs everyday.

Hi!

Look to the right and you’ll see two versions of Piper’s walking movie… one that’s small for dial-up users, and one that’s a little better and optimized for ipod users. There’s also a new clip of Lela at the end.

Enjoy!

jason

Well Lela gets all the kudos for walking first as seen on video. Piper gets the kudos for getting up and walking without any help. Several times yesterday she just stood up in the middle of the room with no help and walked across the room. I was so stunned. Of course that is a little harder to get on camera because she just does it. We will work on getting it on video this weekend.

On another note we closed on our house yesterday and got the keys so we are officially home owners again and that feels great. We will be having some work done like painting and flooring and moving in around the 17th. Nana and Papa Slocum will be coming out to help us move in and that will be nice to have the help and to see Nana and Papa. We are hoping to get to Cali soon so we can see Uncle Marc, Aunt Mel and Ava.