Halloween

Will and Liv celebrated their first Halloween! Well, actually their second, but their first was spent in the hospital, so I'm not counting that! Liv was Piglet, and Will was Eyore from Winnie the Pooh. They didn't really get the idea, but they enjoyed riding around in their wagon!

We've been enjoying our beautiful autumn with lots of walks. Before we know it, Liv will be able to do the walking herself! She's taken a few independent steps, and great at standing on her own. We expect to see her walk any day now! She also has a couple of teeth on top just starting to come through (finally!). Will is an expert eater now. As a matter of fact, they are both off of baby food, and exclusively on finger food.

More to come after Thanksgiving!

One Year Old!!!

Sorry for being so late on updating the blog. Things have been a bit busy here! The big news, of course, is that Liv and Will are now 1! (well, actually 12.5 months since I'm so late in getting this updated!)

My little toddlers are growing fast! At their 12 month check-up, Will weighed 22 lbs, and Liv 18.5 lbs. Will is at 13% height and 23% weight. Liv is at 9% height and 12% weight. They say mama, dada, moo, and bye bye...plus lots of their own private language! They love to walk with their push-around toys, but not yet on their own. Liv keeps practicing standing on her own though, so it probably won't be long! Will can practically fly up a full set of stairs now, so we are doing a lot of baby-proofing!

Early in September, I had to fly to Taiwan for work. Its so hard to be away from my little angels! Luckily, Oma was able to come over almost every day to help while I was away. Theresa had only been with us a couple of weeks at that point, but she handled it very well!

We spent the second half of September in Indiana. I had meetings at Purdue, family get-togethers, and a wedding to attend, all which timed nicely with their pending birthdays. Will and Liv LOVED the cows, and learned to say moo. They also learned other fun "tricks" while we were there, such as blowing kisses, giving high 5, waving bye-bye. We had their first birthday party at Mamaw and Papaw's house on October 3rd, with a Dr. Suess "Thing 1 Thing 2" theme. Quite a mess, but lots of fun!

We celebrated back in Norfolk with a second party on October 10th, with a barnyard/farm theme. Like before, quite a mess, but lots of fun! Grandpa Nemo flew in to celebrate with us!

We're now working on transitioning from formula to milk (which is going well, and will likely be fully transitioned next week!). The next step will be getting rid of bottles altogether, so we're really working on sippy cups now. They're also doing well with finger food, but might still be another month or two before we fully get rid of baby food. Lots of changes coming up!

Some other good pics:

I hope they are this interested in laundry when they are older!

August 2010

11 months old!!!! Every day, Liv and Will seem like they’re growing and learning something new. It’s so amazing to watch them. They are speedy little crawlers – nearly impossible to keep up with! They insist on directing most of their energy on crawling over and playing in the dog food and water. They also love to pull themselves up to stand on anything and everything, and even starting to “cruise” – walking while holding onto the furniture. Time for all the safety devices – outlet plugs, gate, drawer locks….you name it. They have already started the sibling rivalry...we've seen them both crawl over each other, knock each other down, and ALWAYS want what the other one has...oh, it's already started!!!

With all of that constant activity, they haven’t really gained weight in the past month, even though they are eating so well! We’re working on table food, which is a messy endeavor. Liv is a bit better at understanding how to pick things up with her finger and thumb, while Will prefers to grab a pile of food and smash it into his face, sometimes successfully getting a few bites in his mouth. Gabby and Stella love him, and all the bits he drops on the floor! We experimented with dairy products (yogurt and cheese) to see if they have outgrown their milk allergy. Will is completely fine, and LOVES his yogurt and cheese each day. Liv likes it too, but was really cranky and difficult for awhile, so we stopped the dairy, and within a couple of days she was back to normal. So, not a conclusive experiment, but we’re only giving her soy yogurt now! We’ll try again in another month.

We saw other changes in August. Elsa left us to return to Switzerland, and is already back in school. We miss her! The day after she left, Theresa joined us from Germany, and will be with us for a year. She has fit right in immediately! Brent has been practicing his German with her…poor girl!


Will says “mama” now!!!! He still gets confused every once in awhile and calls me “dada”, but I let that slide, because he's so cute. He’s still the biggest mommy’s boy ever – I have to hide from him during the work day, because he instantly breaks down into sobs when he sees me. I've read that I should take that as a compliment, because it means I'm his favorite and he feels the most comfortable showing his feelings around me. Thank you to the child psychologists that say this, because otherwise I might start to get my feelings hurt!

Liv is much more independent and determined. She typically only cries if she wants to do something, and can’t. She loves to walk using her toy with wheels…full of smiles the whole time. She talks too, but in her own language – hasn’t quite mastered “dada” or “mama” yet. Soon, I’m sure!

Liv has two teeth, but Will still has none. They’ve been showing all sorts of signs of teething for months, with nothing to show for it! I hope they come in soon so they’re not in pain anymore, plus it will make eating a lot easier.

We think Will might be a future soccer player. He loves to hold the ball between his feet! I’ve never seen anything like it. Such control! I'll have to get a picture or video to show sometime.

We spent the first week of August in Indiana. We had a wedding to attend, which was a great opportunity to play at Mamaw & Papaw’s for awhile!

Theresa and I took the babies to the park recently…they love to swing and go down the slide! I think it may have to be an investment for us next year!

It’s now early September, and I’m in Taiwan for work! It’s killing me to be away from my little angels! I made them promise me that they won’t grow or change at all while I’m gone. When I return, we’ll be at home for a few days, then off to Indiana again for an extended 3-week stay for Purdue Alumni meetings, another wedding, and their first birthday party!