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 valerie -- November 22nd, 2009“Elise just took her very first independent steps. She stood, took two steps, stopped and stayed standing until Maia hugged her down. Go go baby!”And that was my Facebook announcement on November 13. She’s since progressed to several halting steps in a row, but crawling is still her preferred mode of transport when she really needs to be somewhere. But. She’s getting so good on her feet. She wants to be up and is starting to realize how much she can do when her hands aren’t otherwise occupied in acting as stabilizers. She’s a semi-walker. Her skills get madder day by day. And she loves it. I’m so very proud of my littlest girl. valerie -- November 3rd, 2009Elise took a halting half step tonight. Maybe more of a foot adjustment, but still. The idea that she can remain upright and move is beginning to solidify. She just loves to stand and today she was letting go and holding an independent stance for as long as her baby attention span lets her. She is just so proud of herself. She’s going to figure this whole walking thing out any time now, and I think I might be ready for her. valerie -- November 1st, 2009We did something today that I have been remiss in doing lately. We went to the park. My favorite park for little crawlers and just standers and the big sister that travels with them. It was a beautiful day for it. Sunshine, cool breeze, temperate weather. The time was right…after lunch so it was very quiet. The girls had a fantastic time. Elise and Stella both loved the swings. Elsie has been loving them, but this is a new development for Stella. Stella spent the entire time laughing her perfect baby laugh, laughing to the point where she gave herself the hiccups…which only made her laugh louder. After swings we went to the small child play area with a large sandy area that is partially shaded. There is a small climbing structure with a “Maia sized house” and slide. Maia loves the play structure and Stella and Elise enjoyed the sand, both giving a shovel a try. They then scooped sand and, wonder of wonders, put it into their small buckets and not into their mouths. Yay! Then it was teeter-totter time. This teeter-totter is really a cantilever type beam with a spring in the middle, so it bounces as opposed to moving the kids up and down in the air. Better for little ones. Elise loves to pull herself up by the seats and make the whole thing bounce and once she realized she could sit on the seat and bounce big time I had a hard time convincing her to do anything else. At one point she even tried to throw her little leg over the saddle herself, but the seat is still a bit high for her. Stella also enjoyed the bouncy teeter-totter, but not as much as she enjoyed the sand area and flirting with the other moms and grandmas. Stella was holding court with her bucket and shovel. She’d do peek-a-boo and then smile and look away and then laugh as the other women coo’d at her. She was just too cute, and we almost lost her to the grandma who just wanted to take her home. There were tears all around when we had to head out. I’m thinking that’s a good thing, in a way, because all the girls had such a good time playing. valerie -- October 19th, 2009Today Elise managed a neat new trick. As she was playing with the (for lack of a better title) Tupperware drawer she pulled herself up to her feet to look inside and see what she was going to pull out. She then took note of a shoe she wanted to hold and instead of dropping to her bum and getting the shoe, she bent from the waist and picked it up. She then decided to let go of her hand hold on the drawer and stand there looking at the shoe in her hand. Stand. On her own. And then, instead of crouching back to her knees or bum when she was done, she simply steadied herself on the drawer again and went back to rummaging around in the plastic containers. Never once bending knees or going back into her default sitting position. It’s not going to be much longer until we have a toddler on our hands. valerie -- October 19th, 2009Yup. Elise popped two more teeth. She’s now got four tops and four bottoms. valerie -- September 24th, 2009Lucky for you, I’ve dropped the teething ball and Elise popped just about three teeth at the same time. She now has four upper and two bottoms. Yes. Just enough to really get you when she bites you. She’s working on more bottoms, but man. She’s loving crunching up crackers. I started them on Goldfish–The Official Cracker of Modern Childhood–and there is much happiness from those biting teeth. john -- September 8th, 2009A whole year old — a milestone for both parents and children alike. Your Mommy loves you enough to give you your very first cake to smoosh around and generally make a mess with. It was all sorts of fun to watch as you first ate/licked all the frosting off the top, and then finally bit into the cake. Then you got all frustrated when the cake broke apart and you dropped most of it on the floor before being whisked off to the bath while I cleaned up the mess. Don’t worry, you can thank me later Happy Birthday Elise! valerie -- September 7th, 2009Happy Birthday Elise! Tomorrow you turn one and as I’m thinking about this milestone, and it’s a big one, I’m also thinking how far you’ve come this past year. You were my surprise baby, my second twin girl and what a scare you gave us. You looked so chubby and perfect–except for that darn lack of breathing. Finally getting to hold you after a day (!) was so bittersweet. I sang to you and told you what a fighter you were destined to be, named both after the abundance of God and Charles the Great. We share warrior root names, you and I. And you have done your names proud. You have an abundance of joy that spills over your face when you laugh and you are so physical and fearless I have to fear for you. You practically jump out of my arms in the morning, so eager are you to explore your world. You and your big sister Maia are trouble makers that keep this household on its toes. But you always brighten my day with your ability find joy in every movement your body makes and every sound you can squeak out of that impressively loud voice of yours. It’s a joy when you slow down for a snuggle or roll over in bed with a lovie and a paci. I am already gearing up to keeping up with the walking running you soon to come. I hope you continue your fearless exploration of the world, because the world will be better for knowing you, my dear warrior girl. I love you with all of my heart, your mommy valerie -- August 16th, 2009Elise is a “…big girl baby crawler stander.” And because Maia is the big sister she should know. john -- August 9th, 2009For the record, while traveling back from Idaho 3 days ago, we were sitting in a booth eating brunch in Burns, Oregon. Elise was sitting next to me on the bench while I fed her bits of pancakes. She started getting a bit wrestless but wasn’t so interested in trying to slide off the bench under the table, so I only had half an eye on her. Valerie suddenly exclaims, “look at Elise!” and I half expect she was about to slide off the bench, but, instead she’s standing next to me, hands on the table, with a big-ole-grin of happiness. Her first time every pulling up on to her footsies without any assistance.
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