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!

July 2010

What a month! Liv and Will made it through their first 4th of July at the beach, Hand, Foot and Mouth Disease, teething, and another flight!

They are now almost 10 months old. Will weighs about 20 lbs, and Liv weights about 17.5 lbs. Liv has her first tooth. It seemed like it took forever! She’s so strong – didn’t complain at all! They interact a lot now. Liv is the gentle one, who likes to pet Will, rub his back, pat his face, or give a kiss. Will likes to pull Liv’s hair and kick her. Yup, he’s a boy alright. Liv is crawling around now too…it’s so cute how proud she is of herself! She’s been working hard to figure it out for a few weeks now, so she deserves a little pride. Will hasn’t been too interested in crawling until the past week. He can get where he wants to go by pulling himself along the carpet, creeping, or rolling around. They are getting more and more vocal every day. Liv says “ga ga” most of the time, while Will’s favorite is “da da”. Totally not fair…where is “ma ma”????



I really can’t complain about Liv & Will getting sick. It’s really the first time in 9 months that they’ve been really sick, which is pretty impressive considering they were preemies during the winter! However, HFMD was pretty rough. They were miserable, wouldn’t eat or drink, which of course was during the heat wave on the east coast so I was consumed with worry about dehydration. Sleeping was a problem too. We’re used to Mr. Will being a bit cranky at times, but it was very unusual to see Liv sad for so long! We’re so happy this has passed.

We flew to Indiana on July 30th. Brent & Melissa had a wedding to go to on the 31st, so Elsa, Liv and Will hung out on the farm over the weekend with Mamaw and Aunt Amanda. We’ll be staying for a week (until Aug 9), so if you’re in the area, get in touch with me to visit! This flight was not as easy as the one in February. They’re too aware of the world now, so keeping two 10-month-olds happy in your laps for 2 hours, after driving the hour to the airport and 1.5 hours of waiting once we got there…well, it takes some energy and patience! I might have to stay here until they’re 5 years old before I’m ready to take them on another flight.

We continue to spend a lot of time in the pool…the babies both love to splash. We’ve even put them under water a few times, and after they get over the surprise, they’re fine with it! My little fish!

We’re planning their first birthdays (just 2 months away…hard to believe!!!). If you’re in the Greenfield area, the party will be on Sunday, Oct. 3, and for those of you in MA, it will be Sunday, Oct. 10. Get your party hats on!

Elsa, our current au pair (Marie’s sister) has been with us since the end of June. Her time is flying by here! She’s with us until August 19th…hard to believe! Liv and Will love her…it will be sad to see her go! Theresa is getting ready to come soon, starting August 20th.