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!