No Place Like Home

Might As Well Start Practicing For Driver's Ed.

2012-02-12T21:49:00.001-05:00

I took our little sheepdog baby to the hair salon today.
She was a total rockstar, aside from insisting on standing instead of sitting in the fancy police car chair.

She was amazingly patient through the whole process. This was probably aided by the fact that there was an Elmo video playing the whole time. These people know their stuff. This also probably explains why they didn't bat an eye as I helicoptered around, taking pictures. And why they, without asking, dropped a few locks of her hair into a little bag for us to take home. They actually filled out a little certificate.

Her hair doesn't look all that different, just bangs in the front and efforts to get the mullet under control. I don't have a high quality after picture to offer just yet, but I'm sure there will be some soon.

Super Sunday, indeed.

2012-02-05T17:16:00.001-05:00

I don't know if we are going to get a real winter here in Cleveland, but I am certainly not going to be the one complaining if it doesn't arrive. We went for a walk around the block with the girlies today and, though it was breezy, the sunshine just felt so wonderful. Will I still appreciate Spring when it comes for real?

The ladies very much enjoyed the walk as well, Naomi pointing out the various shapes on the houses we passed and waving to an airplane overhead. Lillian walked in the lead most of the time, turning around frequently to say, "Come on, Sister!" as though Naomi's lollygagging were keeping them from some kind of appointment.

It's been just a lovely weekend. Nana and Papa babysat last night while William and I got all dressed up and went out to a wedding. We were there with several other friends who had left their children behind and it was wonderful to watch all of us kind of *blink* in bewilderment. Conversations are so different when they are not constantly interrupted by the needs of sleeve-tugging creatures. And when there's an open bar. By all reports the girls had a grand time with the babysitters and the babysitters said they'll come back for more.

Just random? Several times today, I've asked Lillian, "What are you standing on?" but it turns out she's just that tall. They are growing too, too fast.

Damp Babies.

2012-02-02T16:29:00.001-05:00

Trouble brewing.

Daddy gets the brunt of said trouble.

Two very damp little girlies.

Smile!

2012-01-24T20:48:00.002-05:00

I think she might be a ham.

Oh, the places they'll go!

2012-01-23T19:16:00.000-05:00

Here are the backpackers with their packs, all ready for the road! Not that we have any plans. This was just after dinner. Perhaps traveling upstairs, then.

Also, you can call me crazy, but doesn't Naomi look like the girl gelfling from the Dark Crystal?? Her ears were even pointy for a bit when she was tiny.

Fashionista

2012-01-17T21:36:00.001-05:00

Naomi's been making a lot of her own fashion decisions recently. As you can see, many of these decisions involve rain boots. Sometimes they include little plastic high heels that she is surprisingly nimble in. She is definately Granny's great granddaughter. She is often insistent that her sleeves be pulled up to her elbows. When she wears her raincoat, like today, each and every snap must be snapped or else the world will cease to turn on its axis. She happily identifies the color of each thing that she adorns and is pretty particular about socks.

Showing off her gams

Thankfully we are having far fewer of the episodes that we were having around Christmas--thanks to these little 'moments', I now know what it would be like to put pants on a feral racoon. If we offer her some choices about what she gets to put on, things go much more smoothly. However it turns out that she might not be as wicked as a rabid woodland animal. Instead, she's had at least one infected ear since before Thanksgiving. We visited the ENT today and have an appointment scheduled to have tubes put in in February. So, perhaps our little creature has just been in some level of pain for 10 weeks. Ugh. Parents of the year.

Not totally understanding how the Mr. Potato Head works.

How long does it take you to see that there's something odd about this picture?

Just for random fun? Here's a (partial) list of things that Lillian has greeted with kisses and hugs today:

Her shoes

My hair

Her milk

All of the characters in the Ladybug book

The mail

The tray for her highchair

Her knees

My coffee cup

Nana's scarf

My phone

Her diaper (thankfully the clean one)

Hi. How are you?

2012-01-14T16:06:00.001-05:00

I know it's two babies mostly waggling their tushies at you, but I still like it. The transcript goes something like this:

N: Hi!
L: Hi.
N: Windowwww!
L: I see Moooon!
N: mumble mumble.
L: "Finkle, Finkle little star....."

We're getting a lot of love here recently. Lillian will spontaneously jumpstart any lag in conversation with, "Hi. Howoo?" She also kisses almost anything to show her approval and appreciation. Including her toes, her socks and, this morning, the knitted ball on my sweater.
Naomi has been giving this amazing latch-on hug, frequently aimed at our knees. Or she names us and then sweetly lays her head on whatever body part is closest: knees, shoulders, or elbows being the favorite.

They've both made great bounds in saying their own and each other's names. Naomi now has three syllables in her name, but I think it starts with an M.

They also ask for books by name now and Naomi often takes Cawl (Good Dog, Carl) to bed with her.

When they aren't fighting over books (like is brewing at this moment...) they are really quite adorable.

Off to negotiate yet another Ladybug Treaty...

Leftovers?

2012-01-02T14:28:00.002-05:00

Here are a few delights that Nat took this past week on his phone. Just a mid-day treat to warm you before the snow hits hard.

Happy New Year!

2012-01-01T21:42:00.002-05:00

It's 2012.

That means it's the fourth year that the girls have seen. Doesn't that blow your mind? Where has this time gone? I know it's going even faster because we've been so pleansatly busy. After Christmas, we celebrated Grandma Rand's birthday. While dining out has recently been a bit more of a challenge, that evening was made much easier by having a small party room virtually to ourselves. The next night, we tested the theory again by dining in the special kitchen table at Buca di Beppo with Nana, Papa, Granny and Pop-pop. We arrived after they'd ordered appetizers so there most of a plate of calamari at the table. I handed Naomi one of the whole, breaded baby octopi, mostly as a joke, but she popped the whole thing in her mouth! The rest of the meal was punctuated by many walkabouts through the restaurant. It's a busy and distracting place. During one of our tours, I noticed that Naomi was making a bit of a weird face. I held my hand up in front of her mouth and received a whole, now-naked, baby octopi. Disturbing. She did not, however, hold back on the dessert you see pictured here. Yes, the giant one that virtually eclipses Nana.

We made a trip down to Cincinnati to see the whole crew there. Here is William with all of his decendants, minus Vanessa. The girls had a grand time with their neices and nephew and fell in love with Honda the cat. Honda was wonderfully tolerant in return. We all trekked out and enjoyed the first part of the Newport Aquarium the next day. I'm sure they would have enjoyed the whole thing if naptime hadn't interfered. There's supposed to be an aquarium opening in Cleveland in January so we'll have to check it out.

And, here is Matthew, starring as Baby Near Year at our first annual New Toddler's Eve Party. We had eight adults and eight kids under 5 here to ring in the new year at Greenwich Mean Time. It was a hoot. We had a dance party, tooted on noisemakers and dropped the disco ball at 7:00. All the guests were gone by 8, the dishes were done and our movie started by 9. Perfect. Here are the girls, playing with a strangulation hazard. Or, one of those plastic leis that, when unraveled, is big enough to contain fully half of our party guests.

Kissmas!!

2011-12-26T10:52:00.000-05:00

Even this sad little waif was able to get some enjoyment out of this Christmas! Here, she is holding one of the sparkly balls from her stocking. We had carfeully hidden all presents and laid them out, wrapped and shining under the tree Christmas Eve, ready for that wide-eyed discovery the next morning. No dice. Glittering presents were promptly ignored and they sat down to play with the old barn. At first, the girls wanted nothing at all to do with the stockings. I think they were afraid I was going to make them put them on.

"Open, open, open!" The girls were far more interested in the idea of opening gifts this year, happily identifying what they could inside. The frog and owl backpacks you see here were a big hit. This was only a small portion of the haul from what I am now referring to as The Nana, The Papa and the Santa Nana.

Here is only the beginning of the detritus from gift frenzy 2011. They are digging into the art kit that goes with the easel (not pictured). There's paint involved, so pray for us. There were also lots of books, microphones and sparkly tennis shoes!

Papa got a yo-yo and, after seeing it demonstrated, Lillian stole it for herself and spent a goodly amount of time jiggling it up and down, refusing any help or coaching.

It was awesome to spend time with all the grandparents--Greats, too!--and tell silly stories and eat too much food and snuggle with pajamed babes. Aslo, we watched videos of crazy people eating Ghost Peppers. Random, but part of what makes this time so delightful. That, and the part where two two-year-olds in diapers ran in screaming circles around the house for about 20 minutes. One of them was wearing a police hat. If you know Nana and Papa, they've got video of that on their fancy new phones.

A good holiday? In the bag!

Merry and Bright

2011-12-13T20:52:00.000-05:00

(I haven't finished the Thanksgiving post yet. But, I realized that was holding me up from posting new things. So, Thanksgiving's in the time warp basket for the moment.)

Naomi, deciding on the right spot for her decoration

Lillian, analyzing the workings of the hopping santa-egg

The girls had a great time tonight decorating the tree tonight, once they got the idea. There were a few freak-outs when we tried to leave the ornaments on the tree at first but they caught on. Eventually Lillian was instructing Naomi, "Apple. Right here. Apple," pointing to the exact branch where she thought the teacher ornament should be placed for the 17th time. We're getting into the mood for the holiday

Oh, Goodness!

2011-12-03T20:42:00.002-05:00

This was the phrase of the day on Tuesday. With each completed level of the skyscraper, the excitment level grew.

(It's also what I said when I realized how much time had passed since my last post. I promise I'm drafting the Thanksgiving epic.)

What's Cookin'?

2011-11-19T21:23:00.005-05:00

So, like, a week and half ago, we made some cookies.

Lillian, checking our recipe (and modeling her apron set)...

Both girls crammed themselves onto the stepstool with minimal elbowing and did a respectable job of keeping most of the flour inside the giant bowl. I eventually had to close the cap on the ground cloves that Lillian was in charge of, as she was really excited about shaking it in there.

I like to tell myself that she's counting scoops on her fingers in this picture, but really, she's totally tweaked out about the flour that Naomi dumped on her hand.

So, cookies were fun.

And then everything fell apart.

Remember how Lillian wasn't feeling super at the birthday party? She took the weekend to be low key and was back to full force by the following Tuesday.

(Actual birthday and voting day--here's Naomi in her "I Heart Voting" pasties)

Naomi seemed to get hit on Wednesday, but bounce back enough each day to convince us that she was just fine. Until the weekend, when she was a ragdoll of misery. We called the doctor's office, the nurse called us back and assured us that she probably had a virus (what we figured) and would be back to normal soon. Harumph. Well, to shorten an already long narrative, I took her to the doctor on Monday and she was diagnosed with pneumonia and an ear infection.

5 different medications and 5 days home from daycare later, she is finally back to her mischevious, but adorable self. She was in the doctor's office 4 out of 5 of those days for monitoring (I consider that a blessing, as there was talk of hospitalization!) but by Friday she hit all the right numbers and giggled and squeaked her way into convincing us all that she is right as rain.

It made for an overwhelming week. William, Nana and I took turns staying home with the girls and trying to keep calm and sane. In what I consider now to be good news, Papa and Nana both had mid-scale car annoyances, so we figure that covers our family for the bad-things-in-threes bit.

Today, we are back to full normal. I took the girls to the Children's Museum this morning and they were just delightful. They played and listened and cooperated and made me feel like I really can do this. They sure seem to know when to turn on the cute. My favorite moments from today?

Watching the girls attempt to high-five each other. After a few missed tries, they finally connected and were quite pleased with themselves.

Lillian shaking her finger at Naomi, who was laying on the floor sobbing about not having the right book (I said she was back to normal, not perfect!). Lillian was chanting, "No, no, no" and scowling at her sister. William and I had a hard time maintaining composure.

Reading with both of them. They are in a book frenzy this week, bringing us books to read and reading along--both shouting "HOME!" at the end of the ladybug book.

Tonight, it's time to finish up laundry and pack for Thanksgiving!! So glad we got all this nonsense out of the way in time.

Because She Says It Better Than I Do....

2011-11-19T21:05:00.002-05:00

I've been meaning to post this for weeks now, but if I get the other post done tonight, you'll see that things have been a little chaotic.

Anyhow, Amanda uses words better than I. Grab a kleenex.

http://anythingfor30days.blogspot.com/2011/11/november-5.html

(I am thwarted by html coding. Copy and paste the above link. Dammit.)

Birthday Bash!

2011-11-06T16:13:00.004-05:00

T-minus 16 hours. Then the little babies that live in our house will be two. Officially two. How is that possible?

To celebrate, we had a crowd over on Saturday, loaded lots of toddlers up with cupcakes and juiceboxes and filled the house with balloons (alllooooons, if you're one of the aforementioned toddlers). It was mostly fabulous, excepting the fact that Lillian chose twenty minutes before paty hour to come down with a nasty cold. She took it pretty well, though, and with rest periods, was able to make the most of her party.

Lillian and Naomi were totally confused by the singing and candles, but played along. Lillian wouldn't eat a bite of hers, but her sweet tooth sister went to town on hers. Naomi even shared a bite with Nana (who made all the cakes and cupcakes [and brought the balloons and the treat bags and silverware. Thanks, Nana!])

Naomi was also discovered later in the day stealing sprinkles from the cupcakes.

Since Aunt Pat made the girls the cutest aprons and hats ever, I think they'll be assigned to do all the baking for next year's party.

The gathered crowd happily cheered on two little girls who have no idea what to do with wrapped gifts. Jack held a very informative clinic on how to peel off tape, rip one cone of the paper and even how to make sure you get the card out first. He was an excellent teacher. Even baby Matthew got in on the act. Can you see him in there?

Lillian was pretty wiped out by the end of the celebration, as was William. These two took a little snooze before dinner.

We all needed a day of rest on Sunday to recuperate. It's hard work being two!

Hi, Moon!

2011-10-26T18:33:00.001-04:00

These two. I rather like them.

BoO at the ZoO!

2011-10-23T21:12:00.005-04:00

It's hard to describe how much fun we had at the zoo last night. So I'll just give you lots of pictures and see if you can figure out for yourself.

Seriously. It was a blast. It was a gorgeous day and the hordes of cute kids in costumes (parents, too!) were endlessly entertaining.

The girls were enthralled. The entranceway had bubble machines and we could have just turned around and left after a few minutes there. They ran and cackled and played with little glow things that Nana brought. They danced with the Wild Things and ignored all the candy. They shouted "Becky" at all the pumpkin decorations.

I know I've been lax about the posts, but recently things have been pretty smooth. The girls are earnestly and joyfully playing with each other. (Unless they are "NO! MINE"-ing.) Lillian jumps to express happiness. Naomi is a master of colors and the number 3.

Are you counting down yet? They turn two in 16 days.

I Believe This is Called Return on Investment.

2011-10-23T21:04:00.000-04:00

Put a Lid On It. And More.

2011-10-09T20:40:00.003-04:00

Plus, can you tell me what's going on in this picture?

Also, this weekend was our annual Apple Day! It was a gorgeous day, almost too hot for apple picking. The girls were happy to be carted around the orchard, sampling varieties of apples and shouting out "app-pull" everywhere.

My Future's So Bright...

2011-09-30T20:15:00.001-04:00

I can't possibly photograph it, but I want you to know that Naomi's in bed right now. Wearing her purple sunglasses.

Electric Slide!

2011-09-24T20:05:00.002-04:00

Nana and I spent a gorgeous afternoon with the girls at the big playground. That's where Nana caught this amazing shot of Naomi generating enough energy to power a hybrid vehicle from here to Miami. Apparently the random woman standing next to them felt moved to snap this photo as well. Can't say I blame her.

The Three Musketeers.

2011-09-20T21:29:00.002-04:00

How's this for idyllic?

(Photo credit to Nat)

I wish you could have seen these three little girls at the park, looping around this log slide as Amanda funneled them in from the top, they'd crash together in a pile of giggles at the bottom and stumble over each other to race around for the next run. I can't wait to see their friendship keep developing.

And this one, the impiest of the imps.

Garlic and rain and surprises.

2011-09-13T20:41:00.004-04:00

Sometimes, when there are giant puddles in the driveway, you just have to give in and get the camera instead of trying to stop babies from stomping in the water. Even if they are wearing leather shoes.

And then you have to take them to a Garlic Festival.

There were definately not any vampires around. We missed out on the garlic ice cream, but reports from other festival-goers say that we didn't miss much.

Lillian planted the garlic bulb in the above picture for about 20 minutes. In the dirt, out. Then she sniffed it for a while. Then she tried to rub it on Naomi's head.

Naomi, meanwhile, was plotting.

In an interesting surprise, at day care pick-up last week, the teacher mentioned that Lillian was getting really good at her months of the year. "Oh, neat," I thought, not really getting it. That night, while the girls were helping me cook dinner, I asked her, "Can you say January?" Silence. "February?" More silence. I am not surprised. It would be silly for someone who is not quite two to know the months of the year, right?

"March?"
"Mach," says Lillian.
Me: "April?"
Lillian: "App-ill."
Me: "May?"
Lillian: "May."
Me (increasingly astounded): "June?"
Lillian: "Joo."
Me: "July?"
Lillian: "July."
Lillian: "Aaa-ust" (That's right. I didn't prompt her.)
Me (now dialing my mother on the phone to get a witness): "September?"
Lillian: "Mem-mer"
Me: "October?"
Lillian: gibberish. I am slightly relieved that she didn't just spit that one out, honestly.
Me: "November?"
Lillian: "Mo-mem-mem-mer"
Me: "December?"
Lillian: "Thember."
Me: (falls on floor.)
Lillian: (continues rattling measuring cups.)

So, yeah. Daycare's going well.

Labor Day, Workers in the Kitchen

2011-09-05T20:51:00.002-04:00

Three weeks in and this is all starting to seem normal. The girls are happier each day and William reports that drop-off is smoother each time, with the girls now willingly going to the teacher instead of clinging and whining.

Naomi helped me make dinner the other night. We didn't have a chef's hat, so the strawberry had to suffice. She was a great help, handing me the spoon when it was time to stir the pot on the stove and banging her cups and bowls together. We are seeing them imitate a lot more "real-life" stuff and it's a hoot to watch.

Of course, we made them do the dishes afterwards. As a note to my future self and anyone else who it might help, do not put soap in the water, as it is impossible to stop them from trying to drink the water from the very cups they are supposed to be washing.

We've squeezed all kinds of fun out of summer's last hurrah, Labor Day weekend. I think I could very happily work for a living if I had three day weekends all the time.

We took the girls out to their second Camp Hamilton bash in Wadsworth. They loved it. Lots of firsts:

* As we arrived, Lillian took Nana's hand, then Naomi's and they marched up the driveway like that.

* William took each girl for their first ATV ride. No crazy off-roading, but they seemed to like it all the same.

* Lillian met her first tiny dog, by the name of 'Cupcake' and it was love at first sight. At least for Lillian. Cupcake isn't making any promises.

* Both girls shot their first hoops!

* Naomi tasted her first piece of driveway. Sugar Dale strikes again.

William swooped her up from the fall off the giraffe tricycle and headed to the house, her chin dripping with blood. By the time he was able to wet the washcloth in the bathroom, Naomi was jutting her chin towards the mirror, laughing at her quickly inflating lip. It was like you could see her thinking "You should see the other guy!" Her fearlessness both inspires and terrifies me.

Big Shoes to Fill

2011-08-27T22:21:00.003-04:00

But she's working on it.

I would daresay that the girls have been happier with daycare this week. Aside from the fact that they've contracted the first round (if what I assume will be many)of ick, they've been pleasant and whenever I've picked them up they are playful and happy. There's less of the instant meltdown when they see me across the room and we're getting good reports from the teachers. We've figured out a few cheats that I am hoping are contributing to the improvement. Namely, feeding them. I don't think they're eating as much while they're there, so we sneak in a breakfast-before-breakfast and a snack with milk when they get home. With that and judicious use of an animal signs video, we've been able to head off a few of the storms.

We crashed the afterparty of Jack's 4th birthday today. The girls' naptime never lets us get the full effect of birthday parties. So, we show up just as most guests are leaving and lounge around in the afterglow. It's blowing my mind a bit that Jack is turning four. That means that eventually our babies will eventually do the same thing! I remember quite vividly Jack at almost-two and it doesn't seem like it was that long ago. (Yeah, you heard me. Almost-two. It doesn't make sense to count in months anymore. It's only 8 or 9 weeks away.)

Feeding the Hungry

2011-08-24T20:42:00.002-04:00

Tonight's show is brought to you by legumes. Please take note that Lillian, while, feeding Naomi a heaping spoonful of green beans, was doing the (seemingly inherent) open-mouth face that one does when one is feeding a baby. You know, where you mime opening your mouth and then closing it when the spoon arrives at its destination? Everyone does it. Apparently even other babies.

Shortly after this photo was taken, Naomi dumped a container of beans on her head.

p.s. Things are still improving at daycare. I am still totally overwhelmed by trying to straddle both worlds, but the girls seem pretty happy at "school".

On a Happier Note.

2011-08-17T21:07:00.004-04:00

I'm sorry yesterday's message was such a downer. It's a big transition for all of us, but there will come a time when this all seems normal. And then they'll go to college and I'll be all weepy then, too.

Nana came and picked up the girls with us today. I wonder if we're the weirdos the staff talk about after we leave. We're all misty-eyed and clingy and we come in mass troops for drop off and pick up.

Whatever.

After pick-up, though, we went to the splash park again to meet Amanda, Jack and Ivy. The girls bravely ran into the spray and once Naomi was thoroughly soaked, she demanded that we pick her up and carry her around for the rest of the time.
She did take a minute to make sure she looked cool in my sunglasses, though.

(Oh, and after dinner she threw the mother of all tantrums. I was going to dial an exorcist. But then she got over it and we snuggled a lot.)

I Know.

2011-08-16T20:50:00.003-04:00

I haven't posted in a week and I don't have any pictures today. I know.

I knew it would be hard, but I don't think I understood just how much. Or, rather, I was in a state of blissful denial for a long time.

It feels like, if I don't write about it, it won't be real.

The girls have now had two days in their day care center.

I am nothing short of heartbroken.

I also know how lucky I have been to have been home with these babies for as long as I have.

These girls have been my sidekicks, my constant companions for nearly two years.
We have left them only twice with people who are not related to them (really just Nana and Papa). For one of those, their family was still around while the two neighbor girls took care of them at 4th of July. For the other, they were asleep the entire time. And now, we are leaving them for the majority of their waking hours with people whose last names we don't know.

Honestly, just as predicted, they seem to be handling it much better than we are. The first day we were there, we didn't leave, but let the girls hang out for a bit while we went to loiter by the front desk. A few minutes later, we watched their troup come down the hall, all holding onto a rope. Lillian was in the front of the line, happily holding the rope with one hand and waving to everyone in the hall with the other. Naomi was being carried by the teacher's assistant.

Naomi's been a little fussier in general about the whole operation. We had originally intended to break them in slowly, hanging out with them at first, then leaving for an hour or two, maybe staying for lunch on the third day. After talking with the director, we realized that only creates more transitions and difficulty for them. Maybe it would have made us feel better, but it would have been unfair to the girls. And we've seen it already in the two days. If we linger or come back into the room, Naomi attaches herself to us and cries when we leave. If we just _go_, she's fine.

This afternoon and evening, we made sure to have good quality time with the girls. We read and tickled and played with wet sand. We went for a walk around the block and brushed our teeth for a long, long time. They were so tired by bedtime, Lillian was asking for sleep using the sign (close your hand in front of your face, drop your head and close your eyes). This wasn't different from any other day we've had, but William and I were soaking it in in a way that we might not remember to all of the time.

I know I can't take for granted the time I have with our girls.

I know I can't wait for next summer.

Muppet Baby

2011-08-10T21:13:00.001-04:00

I just don't even feel the need to explain.

Sucker.

2011-08-07T21:46:00.002-04:00

Tonight, Naomi found a ziploc bag with candy in it from the 4th Of July parade. So, she brought it to Daddy.

I think they chose this flavor to complement her eyes.

Garden Cherubs

2011-08-06T20:17:00.004-04:00

The well-manicured lawns and gardens of the stately Stan Hywet mansion are a surprisingly wonderful place to let babies and kiddos run and roam.
We didn't dare to take them in the house, as no one would have had any fun at all. But while Saul and Leann and William were exploring the house tour, the rest of us tromped down to the English Garden, an idyllic walled garden that continues to be my favorite place on the grounds. The littles just ran the paths and sniffed flowers and giggled.

Seriously, where are the on-cue butterflies and bluebirds?

(As a side note, I apparently say, "Seriously" a lot, as Lillian has picked it up.)

Here's Naomi, bolting down one of the brick pathways. She couldn't quite catch Jack, but she gave him a good chase.

Lillian, enjoying the view.

Anniversary and playtime

2011-07-31T22:20:00.003-04:00

Yesterday, William and I celebrated our 6th anniversary. I'm not sure what the standard gift is for that year, but if it's sidewalk chalk or garden soil or hotdogs, we've got it covered.

We had a spectacular weekend with visits from friends that translated into an all day cookout-kid-party-fest here in the yard. We had originally planned to go out to brunch to reward Laura for swimming a mile-long race in Lake Erie. But, when thinking about the logistics of dining out with five children under the age of 4, I broke into a cold sweat, went to the store and bought lots of hot dogs instead. We grilled and chatted and watched the kidlets play in the yard. It was kind of ideal. Lillian even had her first kiss. She and Noah are kindred souls. I've let Laura and Steve know that I'm ready to sign the arranged marriage contract already.

Nana and Papa came up later in the afternoon so that William and I could go out and do our anniversary up in style. That meant the salad bar at Ruby Tuesday's and the Harry Potter movie. Heavenly.

The girls stayed home to take care of Nana and Papa, who'd brought the play kitchen we mentioned before. It was a good decision. They played with it in the driveway for a long while and threw heavy protests at having to let Nana and Papa move it in the house. The grandparents report that Lillian organized the dishes and shouted about the whole process for about an hour. Naomi has been allowed to touch it, too, mostly sneaking farm animals into the oven.

I was entirely too distracted by the mass quantity of fun to take pictures, but here are the girls in their adorable outfits, part of the Pat collection. (Naomi, as usual, is blurry in this. But she did manage to keep those white pants unsullied for most of the day. Don't ask me why, but she's holding a toilet paper roll and Lillian's reading a recipe book for tropical drinks.)

Today, we played outside, putting in some plants and general maintenance. The girls were very helpful Naomi sat down and began weeding the sidewalk all on her own. They were both so thrilled to be allowed to run a three house distance on the sidewalk that I'm not sure anything else mattered. (We had previously tried to set up the corral while we worked out front, but that just ended in a lot of frustration on everyone's part.)

Here are the weeders. I know it's part perspective and part posture here, but this just emphasizes how tiny Naomi is in comparison to her sister. (Lillian may finally be catching on to her size advantage. In a bout over who got to push the buttons on the cable box last week, Lillian grabbed Naomi around the head and very nearly threw her off the footstool. Thankfully the orange nylon tube was there to break the fall.)

For a big portion of our time working outside this morning, Lillian was shouting, "Maow! Maow!", her cat noise. I figured it was random. Until she went tromping through all the plants we'd just put in and grabbed the fuzz at the end of the ornamental grass.

Splish, Splash

2011-07-27T21:55:00.002-04:00

We visited another nearby local gem today, all the while trying to ignore how little time we had left to enjoy it. Okay, not all the while. For most of it, we just enjoyed watching our babies run through the water and laugh while we chatted with other parents.

Naomi, experimenting with water flow

Lillian, chasing rainbows

Mud Pies and Frog Huntin'

2011-07-26T21:16:00.002-04:00

Apparently, every Tuesday at the Botanical Gardens is Mud Pie and Ice Cream day. Why did I not know this earlier?? (Yeah, we only have two more Tuesdays with the girls before they start day care. I can't describe for you the feeling in the pit of my stomach as I type that sentence. I don't want to.)

We didn't even bother with the ice cream, but the mud pies were fun. The volunteer scooped some really excellent mud into a pie mold and flipped it onto a plate where she'd written their names. Then we were directed to a table full of flowers and ferns and leaves to stick into the mud.

Lillian enjoyed plugging hers into the pie or dropping them on the ground, saying "uh-oh" until someone picked them up. She stayed at that table for almost half an hour. Naomi was dead set against anyone sticking any flowers into her perfectly unadulterated pile of mud. We managed to stab a few in there while she wasn't looking. She made great attempts, though, at earnestly sniffing flowers. The thistly one we picked out was a bit of a surprise.

While Lillian was hard at work sorting and dropping flowers, Naomi was racing around the rest of the Children's Garden. She ran smack into some poor man near the front entrance (part of a very nice couple with whom Lillian tried to go home later on). She spent a long time sticking her head through the rails on this bridge in an effort to ferret out the rubber-band sounds of a bullfrog William had showed her earlier. She was really intently searching for the source of this sound and looked back at me several times, her face seeming to ask, "You hear it too, right? Let's get him!"

In all, today was a really great day. Excepting the girls' kindergarten-style slappy fight in the race car cart at the grocery store. They thought it was hysterical, but I was mortified. We've been working on the whole 'no hitting' thing quite a bit, even instituting our first time-outs. Haven't worked out how to do that when outnumbered in public. But, to redeem themselves, they were both giggly and crazy after dinner, dancing and diving onto pillows and our laps, choosing books to read and snuggling with Arnold the stuffed pig. I just love when they are silly and affectionate all at the same time.

Please pardon me while I go and weep and pull all the batteries out of the clocks.

Moo! (Plus bonus blooper footage)

2011-07-23T21:11:00.004-04:00

Animal noises. They're a never-ending source of entertainment. For me, I mean. She doesn't pull off the elephant here, but both she and Naomi have roughly interpreted elephant sounds as blowing rasperries while humming.

Meanwhile, here is the outtake roll. She grew bored with the performance requirements, so I flipped the LCD screen towards her instead. I know you've seen one like this before, but try to forgive me the repetition.

Week of Adventure

2011-07-20T21:13:00.003-04:00

After the zoo on Sunday, we were on a roll. Okay, Monday didn't totally count because we only went to the grocery store, but, believe me, I consider it an adventure.

Tuesday, we went back to Lake Farmpark to visit the goats and pigs and sheep, moo at the cows and ride the pony again. Did I take any pictures? No. Who wants to hire on as our full time photographer?

This morning, we took the girls back to the Children's Museum, where we haven't been since last fall. Last fall. When the girls weren't even walking yet. Is it really possible that Naomi's only been walking for five months and Lillian for under 3? They enjoyed it much more this time, climbing stairs and pretending to drive the bus. Naomi tried repeatedly to steal groceries from the pretend store. Lillian hung out in the kitchen room for what we estimate to be more than 30 minutes. That play kitchen we bought in April and were saving for Christmas? I don't think it's going to make it that long.

Tomorrow, Parent Center playgroup (where it's air conditioned) and then, I don't know. Maybe the mall. Anything with air.

Zoo!

2011-07-17T20:58:00.002-04:00

We chose one of the hottest days of the summer to go to the zoo today. It was hot. Sticky. Oppressive. But the girls still seemed to enjoy themselves. They really paid attention to the animals, not just the other people walking around. Lillian mooed at anything remotely cow-like, including the rhinos and elephants. We took her to the petting zoo and she almost short-circuited. "Moo! Neigh! Baa!! Neigh!! Baa!" Naomi was fascinated by the flamingos and the heron near the giraffes. And the tiny little birds that came to take pieces of our lunch.

Here is Naomi, being not quite as tall as a newborn giraffe.

And, since it was so outrageously hot, we made Nana and Papa pick up the playhouse we found on craigslist and drive it out to our house. Washing it down was one of the best parts of the day. The girls splashed in the puddles and peeked through the doors and windows of the dissassembled house. I'm sure more picures will be forthcoming, but here, with thanks to Gary Larson, is Lillian trying to get out of the house.

Do You Hear It?

2011-07-15T21:40:00.003-04:00

I'm not sure you can hear it in this video, but for the last few days, Lillian has been singing the first four notes of the Alphabet Song. The first four letters are A, D, D, D. She has also realized that letters are letters, even though they are currently all A. It's not as though we sit around and drill the alphabet or letters. It amazes me what both of these girls absorb casually. Even though Naomi is not as verbal, she quietly identifies the same body parts and pictures that Lillian does. They are starting to legitamately help with tasks and model simple things that we do around the house. All without 'teaching', just observing. Also, this week we graduated from the Help Me Grow program (the early intervention program the girls were enrolled in because of their prematurity). One their latest assessments, both Naomi and Lillian are scoring in their chronological age range in all areas. These include gross motor (walking, steps), fine motor (pencils, crayons, pushing buttons) social/emotional, cognitive (problem solving) and language (both hearing and speaking). All these measure of progress are so exciting, but they also remind me how fast time is racing. I spent some time looking at video from last September this afternoon and nearly cried over the tiny babies who were just starting to babble and scootch. Now, they use a railing to climb the steps out back and ask for cereal. Does it ever slow down?

Reprise, vol. ii

2011-07-12T21:45:00.003-04:00

Remember when we tried to re-do the girls' summer picture with Ivy? Remember how it was an unmitigated disaster? Apparently Nana captured the one sweet shot before it all disintegrated.

William, Nana and I took the girls to Peninsula this past weekend for what we thought would be a thrilling adventure. It turns out, being strapped into a bouncy, flimsy box and strung along behind your dad's bicycle for a couple of hours (while your party fails to locate the intended farmer's market) is not the pleasurable pastime we assumed it would be. They endured the bike ride, but were downright enthusiastic about collecting crabapples at the lunch stop. Naomi filled Nana's apple bag with those and other treasures like pinecones and twigs and thoroughly enjoyed sorting through them repeatedly.

Also? The alligator likes Cheerios.

Mea Culpa!

2011-07-10T21:50:00.006-04:00

I can't believe it's been since June 24 since I posted! Yipes. Time has flown, with the aid of more traveling.

We spent most of this broadcasting break in Massachusetts, where I figured most of my regular readers were living in the house with us and the girls. But, a few folks have reminded me that it's not just my grandparents who read this thing. (Hi, Granny and Pop-Pop!)

The trip was marvelous, for the most part. Even the traveling parts, since we bookended the Boston stay with overnights in Aurora, NY. Thanks to Claire's gracious hosting!
Even though the girls had 11 people in their faces at any given minute, they were more than tolerable. Naomi did take her daddy preference to a near obsession level. She wouldn't let the poor man out of the room without a hissy fit. She was perfectly darling on the day where he disappeared before sunrise to go hiking in New Hampshire, but if he was on the property, she was attached to his side. And vehemently opposed to being held by anyone else.

We spent lots of time in the yard, playing in the pool and on the swings. We took the girls back to Duxbury beach. They loved it--Lillian for the waves that played chase with her, and Naomi for the acres of open sand to run on. They sorted rocks and tried to eat seaweed and got compliments from a small group of 10 or 11 year old boys. (Not a demographic known for its social graces, so it sticks in my mind.) Here are the bathing beauties. (Or a couple of 90 year old ladies. It's hard to tell.)

We watched the charming 4th of July Parade from Pat and Richard's front yard. The girls loved the music floats and danced to the steel drum band. It was hot enough that passers-by were begging to be squirted by the water gun stationed there.

I didn't take enough pictures because I was having entirely too much fun. But here's a basic rundown of the trip. (With half the photo credits going to Nana.)
A very sleepy Lillian, being lullabyed (that's a verb now. I say so.) by Luke.

One of the tent toys found by Richard at the Duxbury 'mall'--the girls rather loved it.

(Please pardon Naomi's super-wedgie. She's a skinny little thing, but too tall for a 12 month suit.)

Hey!! It's you!! Both girls in their ridiculously cute dresses, part of the summer line wardrobe provided by Pat. We brought their sunglasses, which just happened to perfetly match the dresses, so we tossed the babies into this swing and took 8 million shots.

Lastly, for anyone who wonders if I play favorites, this photo tells you why there aren't as many pictures of Naomi on this blog. We shall make her superhero name "The Blur".

Send in the Clowns

2011-06-24T21:45:00.003-04:00

Naomi loves, loves, loves black beans. She eats them like candy. After she's buzzsawed through a few handfuls of them, she often looks like she's in the first stages of applying her make-up as a hobo clown.

Thankfully, she's a happy little hobo.

Mooo!!!!!

2011-06-23T21:12:00.005-04:00

This is what Lillian said for the first half hour of our visit to Lake Farmpark.

After the milking demonstration and cow-petting, the girls found the playroom with a plastic barn. It seemed like it was going to be the highlight of the trip. Glad we drove to another county to play with the same toy we have at home.

Thankfully things perked up a bit after we met up with the rest of our field trip crew and toured the pastures and buildings of this working farm. Tiffany and Scott, with Greg and Jeff; Amanda with Jack and Ivy; Rob with Ellen and the four of us pet goats and looked at piglets and fed horses handfuls of grass. And then...?

The girls went on a pony ride.

If your brain's processor is not overloaded, please review the following sentence until you are feeling the same emotional fritz that I am:

OUR BABIES ARE BIG ENOUGH TO GO ON PONY RIDES.

After lunch, it decided to pour down rain. The rain just pounded on the tent next to the pavillion and made waterfalls along each edge of the tent for running through. Happy shreiks echoed impressively in the big empty tent. For the kiddos, this may have been the best part of the whole wonderful day.

Wade Oval Wednesday

2011-06-22T22:22:00.003-04:00

It's officialy summer now. Not only does the calendar tell us so, but we've had our first outing to Wade Oval Wednesday. It seems like all of Cleveland brings their blankets, their picnics, their kids and their dogs and we all run rumpus in the sunshine while a band plays in the background. Sometimes reggae, klezmer or bluegrass. Doesn't matter. It's the gathering and the golden evening light that make it all so intoxicating. And chaotic. No, wait. That's the babies.

Lillian had a great time hanging out on this blanket. I'd like you to know that it wasn't ours.

Here is a flashback to one of last year's outings. All three girls laid next to eachother on this picnic blanket, chirping and squirming together. Ivy was quite new--only about 2 months old, and the girls were about 8 months (the three are seperated by 6 months to the day)

So, we decided to recreate old times. That went about as well as you might expect.

Father's Day

2011-06-19T20:57:00.003-04:00

I've tried before to explain how much these girls love their daddy. They just worship him. And with good reason. William is such a spectacular father. His devotion to them is unmatched. Listening to him this morning as he sang "99 Bottles of Beer" to calm Naomi through a diaper change was both funny and heartwarming.

How did I get so lucky?

Hula-Hoopla!

2011-06-18T20:29:00.003-04:00

When we moved into this house 7 years ago, we were one of the few households not approaching or already in retirement. There were no kids on the street.

This evening, we attended a block party--everyone gathered in the blocked-off street, brought side dishes and plates and we chatted away while the dozen or so children ran around, rode bikes, tossed water balloons and sang on the karaoke machine. Lillian and Naomi threw themselves right into the mix, even though they were almost the youngest there. (Aside from a little pumpkin in a stroller.) Naomi's learned that she's tall enough to reach the cookie table. Both girls roamed the street, trying to wander into people's backyards, no matter how hard we tried to convince them that the party was out front!

And then Lillian found this hula hoop that perfectly matched her outfit. She carried it around for the duration of the party.

California Dreamin'

2011-06-15T21:26:00.006-04:00

We made it. We flew two babies across 3,000 miles and 3 time zones (twice) and are still alive to tell the tale. Actually, aside from a new sworn hatred for the Las Vegas airport and the casinos there, and strollers sent randomly to Detroit, it was a relatively smooth trip.

Before we even left, though, we had the treat of a visit from Luke (whom Lillian calls "Bluuu"). The girls loved his attention and playfulness and his guitar.

Also, he mowed the lawn for us. So, he rocks.

Naomi has found the petals on the rosebush in the front yard and was eager to share them with everyone. Including the turtle in her front pocket.

Once we did make it to Sacramento (with much acclaim to Kate F. for helping us get through security), we got to visit with Holly and Aamir and meet their little girl, Penny. Penny is just as precocious as can be and is a total delight. She was fascinated by the girls and played wonderfully with them. Every morning, as she awoke before them, we'd all be peppered with the questions, "Babies, please? Babies sleep? Babies wake up, please?"

We enjoyed a lovely day and half in Sacramento, testing playgrounds and farmer's markets. Including a wonderful place called Fairy Tale Town. (Or, TairyTaleTown, if you're two.) The cheese does not stand alone, not when filled with three little girls.

Then, we gathered the caravan to head to Lake Tahoe. It turns out, they have playgrounds there, too. Only with much better views.

Aamir and the girls at the playground.

We had reserved a cabin up there, which was perfect. And it had this stupendously adorable mini-cabin in the back yard.

And snow. Lots of it. We groaned when Holly and Aamir told us that there was snow in Tahoe and nearly refused to go. As Kate said, "We are from Cleveland. Snow is not a novelty." But, it turns out it is. When there a 6 foot drifts along the side of the house and you can go sledding in the backyard in a tshirt, snow is totally a novelty.

Lake Tahoe is a really gorgeous place and we just relaxed most of the time. (Several of us were battling a cold acquired on the first plane ride.) We did one big(ish) hike at a place called Emerald Bay, which was really breathtaking. Both in beauty and in the uphill climbing. Here we are at the top.

Here, Lillian spots some geese at the beach at the bottom. (She calls them ducks, but we'll let her get away with that for now.)

We have made it home, and at least gotten the suitcases upstairs, which I am counting as a victory. I won't bother to put them away, as our next trip is in only two weeks! At least Boston is still in Eastern Standard Time.

Sugar Dale

2011-06-05T20:49:00.002-04:00

That's going to be Naomi's name as a boxer.

This is going to be her feisty fight face.

Papa's going to be her cut guy.

She got two mosquito bites on Friday night and, because we're getting on a plane in two days, one of them decided to get all inflamed and swell her eye nearly closed. She woke up this morning looking like she'd gone a full 12 rounds. So, off to the doctor we went. Some prescription strength antibiotic cream and oral antibiotics later, she's just left with a little mark on her cheek and a whole lot of attitude.

Attack of the Bunnies!

2011-06-04T21:15:00.002-04:00

Here, for your viewing pleasure, is evidence of why I cannot go downstairs to get laundry while the girls are playing in the kitchen.

Memorial Day

2011-05-31T21:04:00.002-04:00

It was hot. It was fun. We played in the backyard with family and friends. I am currently too sticky to elaborate.
Here are Naomi and Dorothy (William's cousin)enjoying some tea.

Lillian, reading. (There seem to be a lot of those pictures on this blog, really.)

p.s. Lillian 'graduated' from physical therapy today!!

And then...

2011-05-29T20:33:00.004-04:00

Claire came to visit us today. Apparently it's been a while and Lillian had lot of things to catch her up on. What you see here is probably only the last third of her tirade/storytelling.

I'm glad you get a few glimpses of Naomi, too, because it seems like Lillian gets all the good video clips recently. But, Naomi is either on the run or way too heavily interested in the actual camera to be captured.

(after two hours, video still has not uploaded. Will try again tomorrow.)

(after two days and 3 attempts, have learned that video is too large to upload. Seeking alternative delivery methods.)

Maybe now?

Sand, Take Two.

2011-05-25T20:25:00.001-04:00

It went much better this time. We left Lillian's shoes on.

And, doesn't Naomi look like such a _kid_ in this picture?

Hey, Guess What!

2011-05-24T20:48:00.002-04:00

Just like with so many things for Lillian, the switch flipped today. Just when I thought I'd be carrying this (very heavy) baby around for the rest of my life, she showed us all! She took a few tentative wobbles this morning, from her walker to the outside steps (one of her favorite outdoor activities is climbing and retreating down the stairs.) and again at the end of the driveway when she hijacked Naomi's walker toy. Then, this evening, sitting in the living room with Nana, we coaxed her from the couch to the stool and, lo and behold, she marched right on over. And then back. And over and back. And over and back. About 17 times. Then she looped around the living room to visit each of us without touching any 'bases'. So, yeah. Lillian walks.

Caravan

2011-05-23T21:39:00.002-04:00

There was a time when we hung out with Nat and Amanda and we were just a party of four. Now, our numbers have doubled and the activities have certainly changed. Here we are, conducting our own parade down the street.

Here are the little ride-ons we got for the three little girlies (More and more, we suspect that through some twist of the space-time continuum, that Ivy and Naomi really are the twins)

Also...,

Peek-a-boo!!

Why It Is Getting Increasingly Harder to Capture Video

2011-05-17T20:37:00.002-04:00

During the filming of this oscar-worthy scene, I have flipped the LCD screen on the camera around backwards so that Lillian can see herself as she goofs around. I was going to try and get her to do some of her animal sounds, but she got sidetracked by her impression of an old woman without dentures imitating a puppy. At least I think that's what's going on here. I'm sad that you're missing her horse impersonation. She chirps this totally deadpan, "nay." with the most casual inflection. I'll keep trying to catch it.

Tonight, after the amoxycillin dose (which they take like candy. Yummy pink liquid candy.)Naomi grabbed the tylenol bottle and shoved it at us, weeping and whining. She would not be stopped until William went to the kitchen, filled up the medicine cup with apple juice and "dosed" her, like, three times. Babies are weird.

The Artist Formerly Known as Droopy Drawers

2011-05-16T20:57:00.002-04:00

A little box arrived today, addressed especially to Naomi. I opened it while the girls were napping and I'm still surprised that my cackling didn't wake them.

Pat found suspenders for babies. How awesome is that?

Here's the front view:

And the rear. She was rather fond of them, so we put them back on in between clothes and pajamas:

Weekends

2011-05-15T21:56:00.002-04:00

They go so fast. We did lots of our typical weekend stuff, plus an overnight excursion to Nana and Papa's, and it still seems to have flown out from under us.

I'm also an irresponsible mother, for I have not taken a picture or video since Wednesday. The good news? The girls are still cute.

Tonight they ran the loop in the middle of the house with the walkers. Going in opposite directions, they'd shriek and laugh everytime their paths intersected.

I'll get back on the camera wagon this week, I promise.

Sand!

2011-05-11T21:24:00.000-04:00

I want you to notice here that Lillian is doing everything possible to keep her toes out of the sand. Seriously. I have a feeling that, next week, she's going to ask the physical therapist how to levitate. She was very much not into the idea.

Naomi, on the other hand, jumped right in. Like she'd been doing this for years. I was mucking around with Lillian and by the time I got her situated, Naomi had scootched into the sand, gathered a bucket, shoveled some sand in, and was poking at it with the rake. She's a natural.

Also, hallelujah. William installed the second swing today. May there be peace in the world again.

More of the Same

2011-05-10T20:35:00.002-04:00

The swing.

We can't even get in the car anymore without one or both girls catching a glimpse of it. Naomi always has the same reaction--arms held out like a zombie, whispering, "Dat. Daaaat." And they're not terribly good at the concept of taking turns yet, so it gets a little dramatic everytime we go to make the switch. We do have another swing waiting to be hung, but we need to get more chain first. I'm sure if I told the girls that, they'd be marching off to Home Depot themselves. Lillian with her push walker, of course.

She continues to refuse to walk independently. (Lord help me, this child is stubborn. For anyone to whom I have ever been this obstinate, I apologize. Nothing like having your own character flaws magnified 1000 times in front of your face.) She threw an unholy fit at her physical therapy appointment today when we tried to get her to move around using a harness that holds her torso. It was all kicking and yelling. She just gets nervous about losing her balance and has really convinced herself that she needs to be holding on to something in order to walk forward. Now that she's rooted so firmly in that belief, it's hard to shake her out of it. As the therapist and I learned today.

Swing!

2011-05-09T21:06:00.003-04:00

Spring/Summer is finally here. And we've been taking full advantage. We enjoyed a walk to raise money for breast cancer, an awesome Mother's Day Dinner at Nana and Papa's, and lots of good time in the backyard. You'd hardly know that both girls have an ear infection. In fact, I didn't either. They had their 18 month check up today and after wielding the little brain-inspector light, the doctor pronounced each of their right ears to have a mild infection. I asked if I was a bad parent for not noticing this. He soothed my fears and said that lots of kids never present any symptoms. So, amocycillin it is.

Here's Lillian enjoying the swing (with a death-defying cameo from Naomi and William)

p.s. Happy Birthday Nana!!

Celebrations

2011-05-07T21:38:00.002-04:00

Ivy Jane turns one tomorrow, so we spent this beautiful Saturday at Nat and Amanda's to celebrate. She was a delightful babe-in-spotlight, just exploring and charming all over the place. Our girls didn't come to join until after most of the party was over, as their naptime takes precedence over almost anything, birthday parties included. But, they made the most of the lovely day in the lovely yard, climbing and swinging and making really weird faces at friends.

Here's Ivy, smiling at her cake. It's about as much interaction as she mustered with it.

And, if Ivy's turning 1, that means that the Lillian and Naomi are 18 months. (Poof!) That was the sound of my mind exploding. They are not babies anymore! They are so, so, very much toddlers. (Except for Lillian not walking yet. In that, she's still a baby.) They have wildly fluctuating and very severe opinions about just about everything. They are goofy and demanding and do lots of things that I don't understand. They thrive on repetition and, at the same time, are transfixed by the newness of the world.

Also, Lillian has amazing eyelashes.

Favorite Things

2011-05-05T22:23:00.003-04:00

We cannot take Lillian out of bed without her demanding to see this quilt that Grandma Rand made for the girls. Here she is, doing a little independent review of the bottom row.

Also,now that the weather's changing, sometimes it's hard to find exactly the right pajamas.

Yes.

2011-05-03T20:24:00.002-04:00

Yes, those are my underpants around her neck. Don't worry, they're clean. Upon finding the laundry basket in living room, Naomi immediately dug out 3 pair of underpants and immediately put them over her head. And then she hit on the idea that this was funny and kept at it for a long time. She's making this face for Nana--it's one of her new favorite expressions. I call it "The Surprised Turtle."

Intermission?

2011-05-02T21:12:00.003-04:00

Sorry that it's been a week since I last posted. It turns out that preparation for, execution of, and recovery from a 48 hour trip takes a whole week.

William and I skipped town this weekend to attend a wedding in Maryland and left the girls to take care of Nana and Papa. When we returned Saturday night, Lillian was so tired that she fell asleep in her high chair during dinner. She's never done that before, so I think they all did a good job of wearing each other out.

It occured to me that I should try to make a list of the words Lillian says now, since she keeps adding more.

Mama
Daddy
Baby (times 1,000)
Dog
Eat (which sounds like tee)
Kiss (which sounds like tiss)
Papa (which sounds like pa......pa)
Bubble
Play
Ball
Some version of Naomi that sounds like "may-may"
Some version of Lillian that sounds like "ninnian"

She imitates lots of words that you say and still does signs for "milk", and when she opens a book, she does ths long crazy string of sounds.

Naomi is more of a signer and when she says words it's in this crazy whisper. We've taken to calling her Gollum. It's charming.

And since I've been irresponsible with my picture-taking this chaotic week, here are a few bonus pictures from Easter, taken by Nat and Amanda.

Honk! Ivy greets Naomi

Naomi, in all her frippery.

Beep Beep.

2011-04-25T20:24:00.001-04:00

Lillian, the doubtful driver.
(Photo and title credits to Nana.)

Eggs and Fun and Sunshine and Floofy Dresses!

2011-04-23T20:48:00.004-04:00

Naomi meets the Easter Bunny

He has a much sweeter ride than I would have guessed.

Lillian "finds" an egg

Both girls find their eggs that we staged. The actual hunt in the Children's Garden was kind of a madhouse--a delightful and well-dressed madhouse, but, still.

We spent the afternoon outside with Grandma, Carolyn, Nana and Papa and for extra fun, hung the new swing. Naomi, with a worshipful light in her eyes, pointed her way towards it, whispering, "Dat. Dat!"

2011-04-22T21:49:00.002-04:00

So neither of the are fabulous photographs (okay, they're actually quite terrible.) but we had some fun today that is worth documenting. Lillian's been hit with another round of cold and we've been up for several nights struggling to get her through. She's made huge improvements today and looks to be well on the way towards mended.

Since she was feeling so much better, we headed over to Nat and Amanda's for what has become our annual egg decorating event. It's much more easily justified now that Jack's old enough to participate. The girls played pretty happily all over the room, completely ignoring us and our eggly pursuits. Except for when Naomi pitched her egg to the ground.

When we got home and took off Naomi's overalls, we found a cheerio stuck squarely over her belly button.

More pictures to be taken this weekend!

'Scuse Me.

2011-04-21T21:39:00.003-04:00

Several things I'd like you to notice about this picture.

1. Naomi has, literally, a fistful of remotes.

2. Lillian has a "duckbutt" curl at the back of her head. You can't see it as well as I would like here, but know that it exists and it is good.

3. Naomi, a.k.a. Droopy Drawers, cannot keep her pants up over her non-existent butt.

Blame It On The Rain

2011-04-19T20:12:00.001-04:00

Blergh. It's been raining here for 47 years. We might all be getting a little testy. What you see here is Lillian's face after I've taken her picture. She chants "baby" and demands to see the back of the camera. When I will not, in fact, hand over the nicest piece of electronic equipment in my home, this is the reaction.

Proof That Lillian is a Clevelander

2011-04-18T21:30:00.003-04:00

She is mystified by sunshine. After a long, dreary, grey winter one intrepid ray of sun made its way into our living room. Lillian talked about it for bit, searched for it, and, upon finding it, stuck her fingers into it. Hopefully we'll get a few doses of full body immersion before too long. Need spring!

Watching the World Go By

2011-04-15T20:29:00.002-04:00

We spent more time outside today, watching the neighbors emerge from their houses, blinking at the sun. Leaves were raked (not ours), lawns were edged (not ours), cars were vacuumed (not ours).

By the way, Lillian giggles everytime the breeze kicks up.

Daddy's Girls

2011-04-14T20:33:00.001-04:00

You've already seen the welcome home celebrations that go on when William walks in the house. This is why. He takes time to really connect with the girls and do something fun. Today, they all snuggled up on the couch and read from their new 'Animal Baby' books. The level of adorableness here is almost toxic.

Ups and Downs

2011-04-13T21:11:00.002-04:00

These are the most adorable ponytails, right? Enjoy it. I don't want to talk about how long it took to put them in, and, conversely, how long they lasted. Let's just say one was much longer than the other.

And, it was lovely outside today. We went to play outside and immediately found the mud at the edge of the driveway. Tasty!

We Love a Parade!

2011-04-12T20:16:00.002-04:00

The one that Lillian is pushing has a button that makes 'honking' sounds. It adds a lovely sonorous element to this chaos. They must have traveled 37 laps around the house.

Quiet.

2011-04-11T21:42:00.002-04:00

Today has been a quiet struggle, as Lillian had some wild 18-hour bug starting at 1:00am. She's fine now. Sleeping peacefully. We also said goodbye to the happiest dog in the universe today. Dear, sweet Penny has gone to dog heaven to wiggle her bottom at the world from there.

So, no picture today. Give a pet a hug.

You asked for more!

2011-04-07T22:30:00.002-04:00

I bought this 6' nylon tube at a kid's stuff sale tonight. Could be the best 6 dollars I have ever spent, and they only played with it for 20 minutes before we had to shuffle them off to bed. I knew Naomi would dive right in, and she did, crawling back and forth and peeking at me out the mesh windows. Lillian played with her little table at the other side of the living room, her back turned to us for a long time. I thought she might ignore the thing altogether. Finally, after I coaxed her from the far end, she crawled tentatively into the thing. Then she didn't come out for 15 mintues. She went from end to end, flipping around and poking at all the walls. She played peek-a-boo with Roxy through one of the windows for quite some time, shrieking with laughter everytime the dog booped her nose into the tunnel. (Rozy was, of course, terrified that the baby was somehow trapped in this airless containment device in our living room. The dog may need a Xanax or three.)

I know a lot of the video is just squirming orange nylon, but you have to envision the two of them in there, trying to get past each other as they headed for opposite ends and then changed their minds about 9,000 times.

I'm pretty sure we'll be dragging this out again soon.

Health Inspectors.

2011-04-06T21:19:00.002-04:00

"Mom! Did you know you've had salad dressing in here since 2007?"

I didn't run to get the video camera, but I wish you could hear how they shouted and whooped into the refrigerator. And how they complained when I envisioned the electric bill and closed the thing.

Video!

2011-04-05T20:41:00.003-04:00

It works!

Circle The Wagons

2011-04-04T20:32:00.003-04:00

We took our last weekend of Spring Break to enjoy every minute. William got lots of great time with the girls--just a teaser for summer, my friends! There was enough sunshine on Saturday to take the girls for a walk in their new wagon. A quick trip around the neighborhood, a stop around the corner to visit with Tony, some crocus sightings. Bliss. They seemed to rather enjoy this new mode of transportation, too. A little less inhibiting than the stroller, but still fully parent-powered. We have two little tricycles waiting in the garage for when they decide to take on their own motoring.

Nana and Papa came up to babysit Saturday night so William and I could get out for a date night. Astounding how a mediocre dinner and a slightly better than mediocre movie make for a fabulous night! By all reports, the girls behaved and did a good job of entertaining their grandparents. (Next time, I'll put Naomi in a sweater without buttons, though. You'll have to ask the babysitters about trying to get that off. I can't do the story justice here.)

Naomi's getting braver with her walking. Lillian's still doing the one-finger hold, but has been standing on her own for the last few days. Soon....

Random Fun

2011-04-01T21:06:00.002-04:00

Here's Naomi, getting _really_ into the egg hunt the other day. She'd flatten herself out completely to get under the couch or coffee table. Even if she is walking by Easter, I have a feeling that the fancy dress won't make it out of the egg hunt unscathed.

Lillian in the living room "bounce house". William pulled the couch cushions off and piled on the throw pillows. Both girls rolled around on flopped on them, shrieking and cackling their way through the afternoon.

Locomotion

2011-03-31T20:55:00.003-04:00

I didn't take any pictures today. But, close your eyes and imagine a little babe tottering forward on her own, all Bambi-like. Naomi took steps on her own yesterday! She's a bit wobbly yet, but there was official walking. (And Nana was a witness later in the day!) I have been telling them that they need to be walking by the time Easter rolls around, since we've signed up for an Egg Hunt and crawling around in the dirt in the fancy little dresses would be silly! I had also been preparing in my head the blog entry that described how Lillian, the dark horse in the race to walking, had overtaken her mobile monkey of a sister. Lillian's been doing laps around the house holding on to just one of our fingers and seems to show a lot more interest in bipedal mobility than Naomi. Lillian's also obsessed with the mail cart walker toy. She's gotten quite good at maneuvering it around, backing up and changing course when she hits an obstacle. I'd say it won't be long, but I said that about Naomi back in January.

Speaking of egg hunting, Nana brought over some fake plastic eggs yesterday to practice. We had to put them away again so the novelty won't wear off. But, the girls were way into finding and opening the eggs. During lunch, we hid goldfish crackers in the eggs and they were crazy happy to open them up again and again to find the treasure. Lillian also blew my mind when, after hearing me say 'open' and 'closed' a few times, she began to imitate those words and repeat them almost clearly. Not that I think she knows what they mean yet. She's approaching that parrot stage, though, which means it's time for me to scrub up my vocabulary a bit.

Dammit.

Puppy Love

2011-03-29T20:47:00.003-04:00

I bought the girls puppets today. The reaction, especially from Lillian, was more than I could have ever expected! The shock and awe on her face when this creature begins talking and gesturing to her is genuine and delightful. She gives him kisses and points to his nose. I really expected her to catch me, you know? I didn't need to do any fancy ventiloquist moves; she just took immediately for granted that this new friend had appeared to interact with her. I love it.

Technically, She's Correct.

2011-03-28T20:43:00.002-04:00

You saw earlier in the week how she answers, "Where's your head?" This is how she answers "Where's your nose?"

At Gram's

2011-03-27T22:30:00.001-04:00

It's a table! That's a mirror! That's a table! That's a mirror!

Why Is Everything Orange?

2011-03-26T20:49:00.002-04:00

I'd like to think that this morning's waffles were just so good that she was going to lick the plate, but probably not. Much more interesting to mash one's nose into one's dinnerware and watch Mom and Dad laugh. While they're orange.

Special Delivery

2011-03-25T21:19:00.001-04:00

Happy Friday! (And Spring Break Friday, no less. Too bad it'll be in the teen tonight.)

Headcase.

2011-03-24T20:20:00.001-04:00

This is how we answer the question, "Where is your head?". It's also how Lillian responds to hearing the word "head", like in "It's Raining, It's Pouring." Or regular conversation.

Stairway to Heaven

2011-03-22T20:31:00.002-04:00

These are the faces you get when you block off the best thing in the house. I feel like Lillian's thinking "Her! She can open this blockade! Get her!!" and Naomi's just giving me the stinkface.

Houston, We Have a Vegetable.

2011-03-21T22:38:00.002-04:00

The girls will eat a variety of fruits and vegetables, as long as they are pureed. Naomi will make exceptions for blueberries that are cut in half. But, otherwise, they seem to be offended by even touching a squishy piece of produce. Miracle of all miracles, we found a winner Sunday night. We hauled the grill out of the garage to welcome the 60 degree weather and had some asparagus, that great heralder of the springtime. And Lillian decided this stuff was okay! and munched her way through three spears. She didn't always start at one end, as you can see. I certainly won't get picky about methods if she's eating something green!

Fascination

2011-03-19T21:44:00.002-04:00

These captivated faces are brought to you by a baby sign language video that the girls are a little obsessed with. If you let them, they will crawl up the footstool in front of the television until their noses are about 2 inches from the screen and stare at Marlee Matlin and the cartoon characters do the signs for milk (squeeze your fist together, like you were working an udder), baby (rock your arms back and forth), mommy (open your hand and tap your thumb against the side of your chin), daddy (same open hand, tapping your thumb against the side of your forehead) and several others. They imitate a lot of the signs while watching the video and are starting to transfer more of them to real-life situations. Of course, it occurs to me that now would be a good time to tell you that Lillian gets at least 80% credit for saying "Mama", "Daddy", and "Baby" as actual words.

St. Patrick's Picnic

2011-03-17T23:03:00.004-04:00

It was a glorious day here in Cleveland. Temperate and breezy and full of the gentle sunshine that pools behind the storm door and lets you remember what warm air smells like.

We dined al fresco, to celebrate.

Start Your Engines!

2011-03-15T20:30:00.001-04:00

Moments after this was taken, Naomi clambored up on to the seat of her snail. She takes a challenge seriously. Is it too soon to buy her a helmet?

Impatient

2011-03-14T20:22:00.001-04:00

Several times a week, I look at Naomi and say, "Would you just walk already!" She's been standing like this on her own for a while now--not holding on to anything. But, she stays rooted in that spot. If she wants to go somewhere, she squats back to the ground and zips off crawling. Still an efficient mode of travel, since she's so darn fast, but I am getting antsy for her to hit this next milestone. (I fully understand that I will regret that desire once she's off and running.)

Umm.

2011-03-13T21:31:00.000-04:00

This isn't excessive, is it?

Reading

2011-03-12T21:51:00.001-05:00

That's Naomi, with some Shakespeare. Othello, to be exact.

Come On!

2011-03-11T21:37:00.002-05:00

Lillian decided today was the day to climb the stairs. Repeatedly. And she left her sister in the dust. Tonight, both girls climbed all the stairs on their own on the way to bed. They're getting so big!

Today was also my birthday and the girls helped celebrate by sticking their fingers in the cake icing.

Who's Who, Vol. 1

2011-03-10T20:48:00.002-05:00

Still hunting for William's baby picture, but here I am roundabout 33 years ago. So, who is it?

Hats Off!

2011-03-08T20:45:00.002-05:00

Or, on. Or neither. Lillian spent quite a bit of time today attempting to put on any of the 4 winter hats in the dining room. I was in laughing tears.

This Is How I Feel About Grocery Stores, Too.

2011-03-07T21:05:00.005-05:00

On the way home from the ultrasound where we discovered we were having twins, we stopped at the grocery store. Stopping at the front door, I completely lost my cool. Sobbing, laughing. I could not, for the life of me, figure out how I was going to go grocery shopping with two babies. William was able to talk me down from the ledge, but it remained a mystery for a long time. I ended up just pushing the stroller and pulling the shopping cart. We made a little train. Didn't corner all that well, but we functioned. But, then! I discovered this little gem at the 'fancy' grocery store. I now prowl the parking lot, looking for it the cart corral. Twice, I have swooped upon a woman coming out of the store and traded her for the regular cart I was pushing--Lillian in the little seat and Naomi strapped in a baby carrier on my chest.

Sorry about the hiatus this weekend. We had a whirlwind of a time with all kinds of good socializing. By them time evening rolled around, I was just too wiped out to sort through photos and mess around with the computer. You made it, right?

And the Oscar Goes To....

2011-03-04T20:16:00.003-05:00

Aunt Pat, wardrobe design guru, who sent the Best Overalls Ever this week. The girls will be wearing them every day for the rest of their lives. Shouldn't make freshman week at college at all awkward, right?

I don't even have to caption these!!

Then, later, Naomi though Lillian looked a little hungry, so she fed her sister a chicken nugget. Then Naomi stole a nugget off of Lillian's tray. All's fair in love.

Go, Dog, Go!

2011-03-03T20:43:00.003-05:00

The picture is from Tuesday, so I might be violating the nature of this challenge. But, my battery died this morning and this was a cute shot, so here you are.

I would have loved to take pictures of tonight's adventures, were we took the girls out to dinner and arrived serendipitously at Tommy's on the night of Flower Clown's regular appearance. The girls couldn't take their eyes off of him as he traveled around the dining room, making balloon animals for the kids (and anyone else) at the tables. He stopped by our table to visit, but seeing that the girls were too young for balloons, he gave them each a tiny beach ball instead. Lillian was much less thrilled with the clown up close. I think Flower Clown saw the trouble brewing and made a graceful exit.