Happy (Pre) Halloween!

With Halloween tomorrow, I figured it was time to post a picture of the kids in their costume:



We were reminded during their photo shoot how hard it is to get them to look at the camera at the same time! There are more than a fair share of the photos where Hank was trying to escape, while Clara just smiled contently. Typical of their personalities these days!

To celebrate the day, the kids have a playdate tomorrow. Lots of kids running around, but it should be fun (if not a little exhausting). Clara has seemed to master sitting up from being on her stomach, which is just great. She really enjoys the freedom this offers. Hank is all about pulling up on absolutely everything. And I do mean everything, including Clara's head in her newly acquired sitting position. They are truly bundles of energy these days and spend a good amount of time trying to explore every little corner of their playroom. Thank goodness for that space! Otherwise it would be unleashing little destructors throughout the house!

Lovely Fall

Well, Fall is definitely here. The weather has started to turn, and the leaves are falling. I worry a little about life during the winter, especially as the kids are getting more energetic and active. But for now, I am just trying to enjoy the lovely colors out and about.

Hank and Clara were weighed again yesterday, and the data was good. Both kids are growing. Clara is now in the 13th%, and Hank is now in the 15th%. With nursing about to finish, the extra pounds are a little insurance while they adjust to using a sippy cup--which is still not going all that well. We will continue to work on that!

Hank is the standing machine at this point. He likes to pull up on everything. Clara has figured out how to get from sitting to a crawling position, so she is eagerly exploring her surroundings a bit more these days. She has also started giving a big smile for now reason whenever she sees Mark or me. We love it.

In honor of fall, here are two pictures from our recent outing to the pumpkin patch. It was virtually impossible to get the kids to both look and smile at the camera. As is life with twins.

From Pumpkin Patch 2008

From Pumpkin Patch 2008

Times Are A Changin'

The last few weeks have just been change after change around the house. Hank is constantly pulling up on every piece of furniture, baby gate, and push-walker toy. Clara is moving faster and faster in her inchworm crawling style. Just a few seconds ago, I watched the kids playing peekaboo. Clara holds up a blanket over her face and pulls it down, to Hank's complete amusement. They are presently blowing raspberries to each other. It's wonderful watching them at this age.

Of course, there are new challenges presenting themselves. Clara is struggling with getting from a seated position to her belly without assistance. Hank is going through a "mommy" phase, which limits my ability to, oh, say walk two feet away. I suppose that is just how it goes.

Speaking of which, Hank has decided it is not okay for me to type this entry anymore. Off to rescue the young ones.

From September Early Oct. -- 9.5 months

Lovely Fall Day

Today was one of those perfect Buffalo fall days. The weather was warm, the sun was shining, and the kids were in a decent mood. What more can you ask?

It's crazy to think about how much the kids have changed in the last month. In addition to crawling, they both now are completely happy to walk holding our fingers. They have figured out how to move their feet on their own, and both just smile hugely whenever given the opportunity to be on the move. We are a FAR way from walking without help as far as I can tell. But this stage is really fun.

Hank and Clara are also improving their verbal skills. It's like they have figured out phrasing. Their vocalizations have far more inflections than before. We still have yet for them to use any term accurately, but it's fun to hear them explore their vocabularly.

Another of my favorite "new" skills is moving to the music. They love to boogie, which of course means they are my children despite looking ridiculously like their dad. Hank likes to rock back on his legs to his favorite tunes, while Clara prefers rocking while sitting. Either way, just fun to watch. Now if we could convince them that music besides nursery rhymes were dance worthy...

Friday Bloody Friday

I start by saying everyone is just fine. But, we did have a little drama today. As the morning nap began to wrap up, I heard Hank wake up. Within seconds, he was crying his "pain" cry. Norm began running upstairs, which is unusual. I was hot on his trail. When I walked in, I found Hank standing on the side of the crib with blood on his face, on the crib rail cover, and on his sleep sack. Needless to say, scared me to no end. I still don't really know what caused the blood, though my guess is he bit his tongue or lip as he was pulling himself up on the side of the crib. I learned that I don't do well with seeing my kids bleeding, even if it is just a tiny bit of blood!

On a much happier note, we took the kids to the pumpkin patch yesterday. I am not sure they really enjoyed the experience, but we had fun showing them the petting zoo and all the pumpkins. We hope to take their Halloween photos this weekend. Also, weather permitting, we hope to go out to check out the changing leaves. It's beautiful out here this time of year.

Whole Lotta Chatting Going On

While we are still a good spell away from any definitive words, it is pretty interesting listening to the assorted babbling the kids are doing. Clara has a good list of sounds, including "mama", "dada", "digdigdig", and "duhduh". Hank is working through most of the shrieking aspect of vocalizing these days, including the extreme volume sound checks. I find it beyond amusing to hear them chat with each other after nap time. Mostly, they just make each other laugh, but on occasion, it sure seems like post-nap time is the ideal opportunity to check out new sounds. It makes me just like to listen to them a little longer after they wake-up without going into the room.

Of course, with each sound is a wonderful facial expression. Here is one of Clara's more amusing looks while chatting up a storm: