Our Kids

We have been off in Sedona the past couple days and will have some pictures and more stories to tell but for tonight just this one.

In the course of trying to bring up confident little girls that are not afraid of dogs, bugs or people I have probably gone a little too far.  Now I know that they should be leary of dogs, bugs and people and I am not suggesting they run up and hug every person, lick every dog or chat up every bug they see.  But I don’t want a girl huddled in a corner afraid of any of those things since they are part of every day life.  So in my efforts I have taught the girls the ASL word for bug which they  use all the time, we also look at bugs outside but they are “not for touching”.

Well we were in Sedona and we were up in the pine trees and there were a few more bugs than in Phoenix, we even had a little snake at our door one day.  So the girls were playing and I was cutting up fruit in the kitchen of our condo when Piper came to the kitchen and did the sign for bug.  I turned around and she held out her hand, something she always does because she brings me countless (and I mean countless) pieces of fuzz, lint and other things from the floor.  I put out my hand to take it and when she placed the item in my hand it crawled up my arm and I jumped and screamed like a little girl afraid of bugs.  It was so hysterical, she just stood there and looked at me as if I had lost my marbles.  I mean it was clear, she came over, did the sign for bug, made a buzzing sound and then dropped an innocent 8 legged spider into my hand.

I don’t know who was more startled, the spider or me.  HA!  Jason and I got the spider to crawl onto a piece of paper and put him outside.  It was so funny, a memory I will treasure, my little angel brought me a bug and she did not even hurt the little guy.

Well the girls have started to play by themselves a little bit at a time.  Today when we got back from working out they went into their playroom and started playing and chatting with each other.  It is so cute but I have to admit I miss them.  Luckily they don’t play alone for long, as I type one of them is sitting on my lap being so cute and sweet (and trying to type as well).

Piper is really chattering away now telling long involved stories, like her mother I guess she has a lot to say.

Okay so I have mentioned this before that I am working out with a group called stroller strides. Contrary to what the name suggests we are NOT just striding around in lala land with our babies. It is a tough workout with full body toning, squats and cardio blasts all the while singing entertaining and tickling your baby. Fun and challenging and not much time for chitty chat which works for me.

Anyhoo, the first thing we do is get together in a circle and do squats and introduce ourselves and our babies. This is done by pushing the stroller out while you squat down, keeping your knees at 90 degrees. The babies are all facing each other and they can see all the other mommies too. Then we do some stretching and marching by our strollers to get ready for the workout.

So when we got home from stroller strides the other day, Lela and Piper got their strollers (that they push around non stop some days) and they started doing squats and THEN Piper started marching in place by her stroller. It was the funniest thing, they were just squating away with perfect form smiling and laughing. HA! It is funny what they pick up, I hope that I am instilling a love of exercise in them.  Check out the flickr site for photos of them working out, so cute!

We had a great weekend, we did not do anything to exciting but it was fun for all.  You can see from our Flickr site that we had fun today going to the water park.  We did not get any photos but we also went out for breakfast at Wildflower Bread Company and played in the mall play area.  With stroller strides and the occasional playgroup the girls are getting much more aclimated to having other kids jumping around them.  Today Lela did really well and only cried once at the mall and Piper did not get spooked at all.

After we played at the mall we walked around a bit and let the girls push their strollers.  They had a really good time and by the time we got back home they were ready for a nap.  The afternoon was dragging along so we decided to get out and go to Espee Park.  There was a breeze and the water was cool so it was fun for everyone.  Safe to say they were tired when we got home so they ate dinner and then lazed around a bit until 6:30PM when they went off to bed without a peep.  Such good babies.

Well the girls are really starting to play with each other now and their personalities continue to evolve and emerge.  Lela has become quite the little ham, I can see I am going to be getting lots of notes from her teachers already.  She is quite hilarious so I am going to have a time not laughing when she does something I don’t want her to, it is happening already.  The girls have started chasing each other around, popping out to startle one another and so forth, it is the cutest thing.

Lela does not like to be seperated from Piper at all.  Today she wanted a drink and was signing and grunting at me to get up and get it for her so I got up and she ran to the kitchen but when she got there she turned around and said Piper, Piper, Piper and I told her that Piper did not come with us. So Lela forgot that she wanted a drink and ran back over to where Piper was, which was about 10 feet away in the same room!  LOL!

I know it sounds like a great beginning to a fairy tale and I guess it is, the fairytale of the two Haslup princesses.

Piper is the dancer, she can be spotted in your rear view mirror just snapping away to the music.  If you look to the left you will find Lela singing away in her whispering soft voice.  Piper isn’t much of a singer and Lela isn’t much of a dancer so the two of them together could go on the road with their own show.

The tooty and tooth honors go to Lela.  Lela likes to toot (or make sounds with her bum) and then she looks at me and I say “toot toot”.  Now before you get any ideas on a bad habit I am creating, I read in a book that I should point out their bodily functions as part of the potty training book.  It might have been the “if you are an idiot parent then read this book” but I have read so many books I can’t remember.   She also finally has another tooth coming in, that makes 9 teeth.  This one is a molar on her right side.  As with all the other teeth that have joined the girls there was no “teething” issues, a little tugging on the ear but that was it.

Watch Lela and Piper rowing a boat.

You can also download a quicktime version over to the right…

jason

I turned 36 today, or sometime today I will turn 36, who can remember exactly when they were born;)  Anyway, I couldn’t be happier with my life.  I am very fortunate to be able to stay at home and take care of the girls and for that I am grateful.  Some days I may not seem very grateful but deep down I always am.  As I type they are taking a nap and it is only 9:19AM but after 1 week of one nap days and a scant 40 min nap yesterday I think two naps are in order for today.  Since I don’t hear anything coming from the bedroom I assume they will agree with me.

I may be another year older but my life just seems to get better and better.  This is the hardest job I have ever had, the hours are long, the stress can be high but the rewards are more than I expected.  The girls get more and more fun everyday and we just can’t wait to see what they will do next.