1-Year Pictures

Legitimate Walking

Connor took his first steps 2 weeks ago. This is him today. He is taking about 5 steps on a regular basis, but occasionally we get to see something like this.

Happy Dance

Isaac loves playing with this little Fisher Price farmhouse. When you move or push on different parts of the house, it makes farm animal noises. One particular part plays "Old MacDonald Had a Farm" or "The Farmer in the Dell". This is Isaac's favorite. Everytime he pushes that part he does this little happy dance.

Laugh it Up

On work nights, by the time dinner rolls around, someone is usually so tired he is slap happy. On this night it was Connor.

Spike and his crazed lunatic brother

I took this fun picture of the boys in the bath today...I think Isaac looks like he's a little off his rocker in this shot. We better keep an eye on him. No telling what he'll do.

First Blood

I don't know how we did it, but we somehow managed to make it almost a year without a single bleeding injury. Yesterday Connor went face first into a wooden activity cube that he was playing with. At first I thought he just bonked his forehead, but after a minute or so, I saw the blood on the side of his nose. Not bad enough for stitches, but it might leave a mark...

Boxes are the best toys

So, Ryan made a tunnel for Isaac out of a diaper box & he LOVED it! Here's a video of Isaac crawling through the tunnel & Connor cheering him on (Connor wasn't interested in the tunnel himself).

Walking video

Okay, so Connor really isn't walking in this video, but he takes one step & I think it's cute. He took 7 steps on the first try & has taken a maximum of 4 since then. Most times it's 1-2 steps. He likes to practice though!

We have walking!

Connor took his first steps on Saturday (his 11 month birthday)! He’s been standing without holding on to anything for a couple of weeks now, but we still weren’t expecting steps so soon! He took 7 steps on his first try! Since then, we’ve only seen him take 2 steps at a time, but he’s having fun with it. He is very excited by his new skill.

Mockingbird

Isaac has become a little mockingbird. During this weekend he tried to copy me saying "Daddy" and "Isaac" and he copied me when I pretended to sneeze. Here's a video of the sneezing...you have to listen closely to hear it.

First Halloween

Originally posted 10/31/07

Here are a few pics from the boys' first Halloween. Connor is a dragon & Isaac is a knight.Connor loved his costume, including the little hood. Isaac wanted nothing to do with the head armor & ripped it off in short order. Next year I don't think I'll go with coordinating costumes. It's just too hard to find cute ones that coordinate but aren't exactly the same...

Child Abandonment

Originally posted 10/22/07

I think we've got separation anxiety on our hands. Last night, Ryan was back in our bedroom on the phone while I was out in the living room with Connor & Isaac. I started to go down the hallway to the bedroom & encouraged both boys to follow me. Connor followed, but Isaac was preoccupied with something & he stayed. A few minutes later, I heard Isaac start fussing & then crying. I went out to the living room & he was frantically crawling around, with a terrified look on his face. By this time he was hysterical. Apparently, he thought he had been abandoned. I will never forget the look on his face - sheer panic. I felt so bad for the little guy. I thought he would figure out to just crawl down the hallway, but I guess not.

Grilled Cheese

Originally posted 10/21/07

Add grilled cheese sandwiches to the list of foods they like...especially Connor. Here are a couple of pics of their first time eating grilled cheese.




They are both doing really well with the sippy cups too. We're still trying to teach Isaac that he has to tip the cup up when the water gets low. Connor has that part mastered. In fact, he tips his head back whether it's low or not!

Two little monkeys jumping on the bed

Originally posted 10/21/07

We've finally reached the point where nothing is safe in this house. Isaac started pulling up to a standing position early this week. When I put him in his crib on Monday night he immediately pulled himself up & I realized we needed to lower his mattress so he wouldn't fall out. Ryan stuck Isaac in bed with Connor to contain him while we worked on the crib. The next thing we knew they were both standing at the rail watching us. It was too cute to miss taking a picture!

Scrapbooking

Originally posted 10/21/07

Before the boys were born, I had every intention of keeping their scrapbooks up to date with cute pictures and stories. Of course, that requires free time, of which I have very little. Knowing this, the boys decided to go through my scrapbooking magazines to help me find some page layout ideas...

Eat, Eat, Eat, What a treat!

Originally posted 10/8/07

This song from Baby Signing Time is constantly getting stuck in my head & I can't get it out! Anyway, the boys are well on their way to being table food eaters. We've been trying some new things lately...here are the finger foods they are eating:
Bagel
Rotisserie Chicken
Curried Chicken
Black Beans
Cheerios
Broccoli
Scrambled Eggs
Rice
Yogurt
French Toast Sticks
Cheese
Diced Peaches
Graham Cracker
Baked Potato

I have yet to find something they won't eat. They absolutely love to feed themselves - and decorate the floor in the meantime. I'm so glad we have wood floors in our dining room instead of the carpet that was there! They're also doing really well with sippy cups. I'm hoping we can do away with bottles shortly after their first birthday!

He loves him, he loves him not

Originally posted 10/7/07

Most days I don't think either of the boys knows the other exists. Some days they notice, but only because the other one has a toy he wants or the other is being held by Mom. Still other days they climb over, push, and kick each other. On the very occasional day I will catch one of them doing something sweet to the other. Today happened to be one of those days.

We have a little pop-up baby sleeping "tent" in the living room right now. I bought two of these instead of pack n plays for sleep while traveling. It's in the living room for them to climb in and out of so they won't be afraid of it. This afternoon they were both playing in it. Connor was laying down, and Isaac leaned over and gave him the sweetest sloppy kisses I have ever seen. Connor just grinned from ear to ear. Unfortunately, it happened too fast for me to get pictures or video, but it was nice to get a glimpse of what I think was a loving moment between brothers.

Finally, a place to ramble

Originally Posted 10/1/07

So, I'm not entirely in the dark ages. I did have a blog while I was pregnant with the boys, but I've decided it would be nice to keep a blog of our day to day with twins. Connor & Isaac are definitely growing boys...Connor a little more than Isaac. They will be ten months old next week. From the time I was pregnant I constantly heard the comment, "Enjoy every moment, because before you know it they will be grown." Yeah, yeah, yeah. I've heard it a million times, but the reality of that statement just hit me like a ton of bricks when I realized we are only 2 months from their first birthday. Where has this year gone? Where are those tiny little bundles who were asleep more than they were awake? I'm afraid those days have past. My tiny babies are closer to being toddlers than I care to admit. Connor is crawling like a speed-demon, pulling up, cruising along anything that's tall (or short) enough, and letting go while standing...just long enough to test his balance. Last week when he let go for the first time & stood unassisted for a few seconds he was so excited that he squealed with delight. I have never seen him so pleased with himself. Since then, he is doing it more often and for a little longer. He has taken to climbing up on anything that is remotely climbable. The harder part, and the part he has not quite mastered, is getting down without injury. He is our little king of bruises & bloody noses...Quite the adventurer. Connor is also a bit emotional. So sensitive. On most days, he requires 10-15 minutes of grumpy snuggling time before he is ready to face the world after his daytime naps. He is a serious mama's boy - if he knows I'm nearby he has to be close to me or held by me...no one else will do. Isaac is a very different little boy. He just mastered crawling about a week ago, but you'd never know he is so new at it. He can pretty much get anywhere as fast as he pleases. He pulls himself up to a kneeling position, and I suspect pulling up to standing is not far off. He is the king of teeth - with 6 compared to Connor's 2. He got all four of his top front teeth at once with hardly any complaining. I think we've gotten off easy so far with teething. Isaac is obsessed with anything that even remotely resembles a button. He pushes everything with his thumb to see if it will do something. His favorite things are sound books and the DVD player (which he is NOT supposed to play with). Isaac has recently learned what the word "mama" means. If I walk away or if he wants me & I'm not within reach, he will cry, "mama, mama" over and over. Thankfully, for Isaac, Daddy is a completely acceptible substitute. I love being a mom of twins. I have two of the cutest, sweetest, most loveable little boys. That being said, lately I have days (more than I care to count) when I wish they would want someone other than me. There are few things more stressful to me than having two babies pulling at my legs & crying for me to hold them. One at a time I can handle, but when they BOTH want me at the same time, it can be frustrating. They don't want to share my lap (mostly Isaac has a problem with this), so I can only make one happy at a time. I'm told this is a phase which too shall pass. I'm also told that there will come a day in the not-so-distant future when I will wish they both wanted me to hold them. I try to remember this when the chorus swells.... The third boy in my life, also known as Ryan, is also doing well. He just started a new school year - his 3rd year as a professor. He has taken on one home improvement project after another since we moved into the house. The latest (and one of the biggest) is replacing the carpet in our living room, dining room, kitchen, and hallway with laminate floors. We are about 75% finished laying the floors...then we have to do the trim & other finish work. Our house already looks so much different with these new floors. We'll post pics when we're done.