My Faith and Joy… and Boys!

Now if only we could convince Rebecca of the benefits of abandoning the bottle for the sippy cup! 

In honor of Jim’s birthday today…we went boating!  Aren’t you surprised?  (I must note here, to appease Jim’s expressed concern that some of our readers will interpret my use of sarcasm to mean that I wasn’t overjoyed that we boated today, that I was indeed overjoyed that we boated today.  I just figured that, given the frequency of our boating excursions, and the fact that it was Jim’s birthday, and the reality that Jim loves nothing more than a day on the water, that it was a logical expectation that we would spend his birthday on a lake.  My sarcasm was in no way intended to imply that I wasn’t thrilled to be spending his birthday boating.  Because I was.  Okay,  End of my disclaimer). 

We were invited to join friends and family at a nearby lake cottage, and we enjoyed the freedom of being able to lounge on land while others were boating.  The girls (and I) took full advantage of all the available arms.  Look at all the people who were willing to hold and entertain them!

Here’s a little blast from the past for you all.  Nearly one year ago, we visited the exact same wonderful folks at the exact same lovely cottage.  Can you believe how tiny the girls were then?

Here’s a photo of my friends Maria (a twin herself) and her mom Doris (also a twin herself), with our twins today…

…and a year ago.  The girls took up a little less space in their car seats then!  

And here’s Rebecca sleeping on the couch today…

…and a year ago.  Still snug as a bug in a rug!

I have to say, I was a little more exhausted coming home from today’s outing than I was a year ago.  Even though last time, I was still recovering from bedrest and childbirth, at least then the girls didn’t do much other than sleep and eat.  Today, they ate, babbled, crawled, cried, smiled, laughed, played…and slept – although only a little.  I can only imagine what next year’s cottage visit will be like, when we add in walking and talking! 

We had a wonderful visit today from my dear friend Olga, with whom I lived when I moved to Connecticut after Jim and I were engaged.  She was back here visiting her son and his family, and we were fortunate enough that she could make room in her busy schedule to meet my girls.  It felt like just yesterday that she and I were living in her beautiful old home, just the two of us.  My, how things have changed!

Olga is close with Jim’s Nana, and since today is Nana’s birthday, we stopped by for a mini-reunion and celebration.  Happy Birthday, Nana!     

My mom ordered the girls a new kind of life vest, hoping that if we found a more comfortable fit, we’d be more likely to make the girls wear them on the boat, the girls would be less likely to be tossed overboard unprotected, and my mom would be more likely to sleep at night.  Hey, as long as she’s buying, we’ll do what we can to give her a good night’s rest! 🙂

The jury is still out on whether or not these vests will be more kid-friendly, and thus worn more often.  But the verdict is in that the girls look hilarious in their new attire!

Susie: “I can’t put my arms down!”

Susie: “I’ve fallen and I can’t get up!”

Becky: “Mom, this is rather embarrassing.”

Becky (on left): “Help!  How do I sit down?”

Susie (on right): “There, there, sister, it’s not so bad.”

Girls: “We can look cute no matter what we’re wearing!”

Here’s a video of the girls testing out their vests.  They kind of remind me of puppy dogs wearing those plastic cones around their necks.  Only dogs move around better than the girls do.

In the words of the American Academy of Pediatrics, by 12 months of age, children should be able to “Let objects go voluntarily.”

Well, the girls have not only achieved, but positively mastered that behavior.  In fact, it constitutes 80% of their waketime activity. 

The girls now enjoy letting anything and everything go.  Food in their hands inevitably drops to the floor (carpet…beige carpet).  Anything on a table within arm’s reach is grasped, pulled off, and let go with no regard for the effects of gravity.  Books are one-by-one withdrawn from the shelf and tossed over their shoulders, as if the girls have been tasked with tunneling through a mountain of paperbacks and depositing the refuse behind them.  Clothes are plucked from drawers and fly through the air.  Laundry is pulled from the dryer and deposited in a wrinkled heap nearby. 

Now tell me, you American Academy of Pediatrics, when do children reach the milestone where they “clean objects up voluntarily”?  I’m waiting!