A Year Has Passed

Well, the twins are now a year old, and they didn't even get a proper birthday. No presents, barely a cake, and hardly any family.

BUT, they got to see fireworks! We went to Boom's brother's house on the river where they just moved in, and their neighbors come up once a year from Pittsburgh with a bunch of friends (rich folk) and put off a VERY good show of fireworks, right there on the river.

VERY, VERY, nice. We loved it, and it was the first fireworks Pumpkin and Rugger got to see, too. We didn't make it to any parades or anything else because it's just too hard with the babies. We did go to Pittsburgh early in June and had a WONDERFUL time at the zoo and especially the hotel and then briefly in the city. The kids loved the elevator, and Boom and I missed the diversity of the people in large cities. We decided to make it an annual trip, we had so much fun.

But on to now. Birdie is finally walking. She is SUCH a cutie! She's definately stolen our hearts. For all the doubt we had about whether we'd be okay with "just" another girl, we wouldn't have had to worry. She had us both tied around her fingers. She makes faces all the time, and when she laughs, you feel like you discovered a beautiful secret all of a sudden. She loves holding small things, and won't let go of what she wants. She'll push Booger, hit him (though to be fair it's often in a "I like you" sort of way) and crawl over him if she wants to get somewhere or take something from him. She likes kicking her little feet while sitting on the edge of seats, and can down food pretty quickly without making a mess like her brother does, even when he DOESN'T down the food.

She enjoys the animals. She'll pet and pat the cats, and loves patting and petting Boomer when we go on walks. Her little chubby hand just barely reaches him over the stroller bar. She'll still stick our her tongue with new foods or if she doesn't like something. And make that "plttt" sound. She also is still shy with anyone knew and will cry if left alone in a new place or if someone looks at her the "wrong" way. She's also quick to cry when things scare her.

Booger is just always on the go. Walking around just for the sake of walking. And often tripping over his own feet more than over toys. He wants to eat anything we do, and then some, including paper, kleenex, dog food, and especially dirt. He loves sippy cups, like his sister, and he tries to drink from regular cups but still chokes. He understands the command to sit (as in in the tub or on the stairs) and likes to dance to music. He sort of says "Dad" and "bye" and "hi." He and Birdie both liked swimming in the large pool at a friends, though he took longer to warm up to the idea. Birdie just loved it right away.

He also will NOT let go of the phone. He knows his don't work, and he won't settle for them. He'll chase around the phone all day, and when he gets it, he'll "talk" into it and press all the buttons. Pencils are another favorite with both babies.

Rugger is still into his trucks, tools and trains. He also is starting to venture out and become his own being. He'll tell me he can't help me because "his back hurts" (he hears his dad say this after chopping wood) and he'll get frustrated when he can't do something as good as Pumpkin or us. He is wonderful to the babies, and just loves them. But of course because of them he can't play with all his little toys where they can reach them. I expect next year will be a lot better for him. He was so happy to get a saw from the outpost, that he asked if he could cut wood IN the house. I told him "yes" and he reminded me that bits of wood would get everywhere, to which I reminded him that it was just pretend, and he says, "Oh...yeah" and smiles his goofy grin.

He still struggles with some words, and though he USED to say "spider" and "smile" it's now been "fpider" and "fmile" for a few months. I know he can say the "s" sound, so I hope he outgrows it. He loves playing in mud puddles and loves his lizards and bugs and spiders. If only I could get him not to lose things!

Pumpkin is still into creating things. She's made a wallet (it's not brown yet because it didn't go through that part of the factory, yet) and many "paper books" (I've been waiting my whole life to make one of these...) She is less quick to help out now (you gotta love those toddler years when they are cooperative most of the time) but is very conscientious. She still doesn't like being bad and getting into trouble, and is very empathetic. She likes making friends, and I need to be more proactive in getting her together with them. The other day before supper I was getting the food on their plates, and she says to me, "Move the hats out of the way...and for goodness sake, the potty!" because the travel potty was sitting on the table at her spot.

I find that the way they get along together makes me so proud, and yet at the same time it's the same thing that annoys me so as they are always wrestling or jumping or running together and I'm afraid they will get hurt, not to mention the noise. So it's hard to know what to do. Again, I look forward to the next year as things get easier with the younger ones.

So that's where we are at. And books - some day I'll actually be reading them again with the kids. I read my own for now, though I'd rather play in clay, but that, too, will come in time.

And now my head is spinning and I need to sleep.