48 weeks

Forty Eight Weeks!

Here is what's new:

Alex has added some new noises to her repertoire. This one is like a "B L K" sound. When mixed in with the really fast raspberries she does and her singing, it almost sounds like talking. She is still saying "hiiiii" and "mama" and now some "dada" and overall she is a very good communicator, as she also makes a "yummy" noise when she is hungry. She gets so excited when we read books with motions - there is one that says "clap your hands to make a noise, touch your toes and wiggle your fingers" and she does all of it now. Alex has been standing for a few seconds - a little bit longer each week. She is very sturdy on her feet but is just terrified to try to step forward. If we are holding her hands to walk, she will sit down if we try to use just one hand. She can do it, just needs some confidence!

This photo shoot is OVER!!!

Josie actually stood for a good 10 seconds last night. She was holding my leg (making sure I wouldn't leave my spot next to her) and then popped up. Of course as soon as she noticed, she sat back down. But rather than plopping down, she has been lowering herself back down in a very measured way. Her newest thing, and we can't figure out where she learned this one, is sitting on the floor and using her legs to spin in a circle (kinda like a break dancing move from the 80s). She has always been very controlled with her movements and I think if she wasn't such a perfectionist about it, she might be walking already. That's ok - I love seeing her little but shake from side to side when she pushes her walker, I am in no rush for that to end! Josie has also really been talking up a storm, and once she gets going she doesn't stop. She gets very excited to tell us everything. 

The last two weeks we are seeing a lot more independent play and discovery. Rather than walking in from work and having a baby attached to each leg until bed time, I am noticing they get bored and crawl away to play with blocks or book.  While I love cuddling them and playing with them, and I typically do sit with them to play for most of the time we have together, there is definitely something magical about being able to move freely around the kitchen. 

Reading books is Alex's favorite!

The girls' hair is getting long, finally. Maybe the hair growth seems more dramatic because the helmets covers their hair, so we really do see progress when we take the helmets off, They both have some cute little baby curls coming up under their ears and maybe enough on the top for a little clip. The helmets are going well - we are really seeing some progress in both of them. They have really become second nature, and of course the minute we take them off the girls end up tumbling and slamming their heads on the floor - so maybe we are better off with them on. On Thursday, the girls' 11 month "birthday" we added a 3rd "solid" food meal at breakfast - so now after their morning bottle they are getting some egg or cheese and some cheerios.

11 months old on Thursday

11 months old on Thursday!

Still their favorite spot!

Mom and dad are doing good. I actually took a few nights this week for me. I went and got a few inches taken off my hair to make it a bit quicker to get ready in the morning and to maybe thwart some of the hair pulling that has been going on here. I also went out with friends. James did fantastic with the girls and even did some chores around the house - I felt very spoiled coming home, relaxed and refreshed, to a clean house. Tonight is my holiday party at downtown Disney so we will be leaving in the afternoon and making an evening out of it - we'll do some shopping and get some cocktails and some us time in before the party. After all of the leftovers this past week I am really looking forward to some steak. I can't think of a better word to end this on than the word steak.

New shorter hair!