January 6, 2010, at 10:54 pm | My in-laws were out in Arizona visiting their daughter and her family for a week. I know I missed having them nearby, and apparently so did the girls. When they came over tonight for dinner, the girls ran around like the circus had come to town! Becky was especially affectionate with her Pappy. She rarely leaves my arms voluntarily when there are other people around, but tonight, she repeatedly asked to be picked up by Pappy. She bestowed multiple kisses on him, and clung to his side as if she was worried he would walk out and leave her again. We’re all glad to have you home, Bubba and Pappy!
January 6, 2010, at 12:09 am | On Tuesdays, we typically head out to a local toddler Story Hour, which means that the girls miss their morning nap. It’s a small price to pay for the socialization – for them and for me. The girls’ weariness is generally overcome by their excitement at interacting with (or just watching, slack-jawed) other small children. It’s not until we arrive back home that their fatigue catches up with them, and they wander around the house, whining and restless. Now that I think about it, maybe their behavior is due less to lack of sleep, and more to the disappointment at once again being home with only each other and me to look at all day…hmm…In any case, the three of us are always very ready for their afternoon nap to come.
I was especially eager today for the girls to rest, as I’ve been fighting a persistent headache, and I was hoping to be able to lay down for a few minutes while the girls slept. So when it was nearly naptime, I gathered Becky into my lap and asked her in what I assumed was a rhetorical voice, “What time is it?†To my surprise, she looked up and said, “Nigh-Nigh!†(translation: Night-Night, which is what I call naptime). I nearly cried tears of joy, both because I considered this to be her first word, and because I was really ready for all of us to go to bed. I thoroughly congratulated her on her intelligence and perceptiveness, and ushered the girls upstairs.
Becky was indeed ready for naptime, and she took a good long sleep, but Susie must have decided that since she wasn’t the one to respond to my question, she wasn’t going to go “Nigh-Nigh.†She alternatingly fussed and played in her crib for the duration of their naptime, which meant that sleep eluded me as well. However, I was instead able to use the time to get some much-needed cleaning done, and fortunately my headache subsided somewhat as well.
I’m not completely positive that “Nigh-Nigh†is in fact Becky’s first word, because on New Year’s Day, she might have uttered a version of “Cracker†or “Cookie†that sounded like “cuh-cuh.†But I wasn’t sure if she had spoken the word spontaneously, or she was simply repeating the sounds after I said them. Both girls are getting better at that. They can repeat “Hi†(“Eye-eeeâ€), “Tommy†(“Tah-eee), “Yay,†and my niece Alli will be happy to know that Susie even repeated her name this evening (“Ayeeeâ€), but they don’t say any of those things without me saying them first. And of course, they’ve been saying “Mama,†“Dada,†and also “Bubba,†which is their collective name for Jim’s parents. So while my mom confidently informs me that my first word was “Light,†I’m not similarly certain of the girls’ first words. But for the sake of their baby book (which, for all intents and purposes, is this blog), I’m announcing that Becky’s first word is “Nigh-Nigh.†Does she get extra points for the two syllables?
But all this “Nigh-Nigh†talk is making me sleepy. I’m going to go join the girls in slumberland. Nigh-Nigh, dear readers!
January 5, 2010, at 12:29 am | Many of you know that Susie not only enjoys her food, but she enjoys it audibly. Ever since she started eating solid foods, she punctuates her chewing with appreciative “Yum…Yum†murmurings. This practice is especially pronounced when she consumes anything sweet, like bananas or cookies.
So this afternoon, while I was in the kitchen preparing lunch for the girls, I didn’t think twice about hearing a loud “Yum…Yum†emanating from the dining room.
That is, until I realized I hadn’t served the girls any food yet.
I remembered that when I placed her in her high chair, she had ogled all the Christmas decorations that were piled on the dining room table in preparation for the season’s end. To keep her content while I finished making her sandwich, I had handed her a candle. To be specific, it was a Yankee Candle “tart warmer†insert. I had figured the design on the front would occupy her for the few remaining minutes before lunch.
Well, occupy her it did. I quickly approached Susie and saw that she was vigorously munching on the candle. I grabbed it out of her mouth and told her she shouldn’t eat things that aren’t food. Susie looked up at me with a look of pained disbelief, and promptly burst into tears.
Confused by the intensity of her outcry, I looked down at the candle.
Poor Susie! No wonder she was upset that I yanked the thing out of her mouth. Not only did it look like a cookie and smell like a cookie – it even SAID cookie on it! Not that she can read yet…
She had just assumed I was letting her eat her dessert first, and here I was rudely and abruptly changing my mind. To make up for this perceived injustice, I gave her extra peaches for dessert. It wasn’t quite a cookie, but it was better than wax. Or was it…she had been enjoying the wax, after all!
January 3, 2010, at 10:27 pm | 
Becky: “Wheee! I love it when Kim uses me to do her bicep curls!”
Becky: “Maybe if I sit really still, no one will notice me here and I can stay and play longer.”
Susie: “Where’s the horn on this thing? Get outta my way, Becky!”
Susie: “These are our champion smiles. We make a good racing team!”
Adrianna (on right):”You better not come near my toys, Becky!”
Susie: “I love sitting on Aunt Joyce’s lap when I get to munch on treats and learn tricks from Uncle Joe like sliding my bottle across the table.”
Susie: “Yeah – family is the best – but dessert is right up there.”
Susie (on floor in front of couch): “You’re all looking at me, right?”
Susie: “I found a new Wii balance board. It’s softer on my feet.”
Susie: “Oh no! Mama found us! It’s all Megan’s fault for exposing me to Trouble – with a Capital T that rhymes with P that stands for POOL!”
Susie: “Here, Beck – you take this phone. I’m ready for an upgrade.”
Becky: “Woohoo! I’m gonna call my cousins and tell them we wish they were here!”
Becky: “I’m doing my best Joe Cool impersonation. Is it working?”
Becky: “We’re such good drivers now, I think we can help Dad with the trip home.”
January 2, 2010, at 10:31 pm | We just returned from a road trip to Pennsylvania to visit friends and family. We had a wonderful time ringing in the New Year surrounded by so many loved ones. I was too busy enjoying myself to take many pictures that night, but here’s a couple of the girls with their second cousins, Chloe and Lauren:
Chloe and Lauren are sisters, and when they noticed that Becky is a brunette and Susie is a blonde, Chloe designated Becky as “mine†and Lauren was happy to claim Susie. But then when I explained that Becky likes her toys to be clean and uncluttered, and Susie likes to mess hers up, the big girls had to switch ownership according to their own habits. So, through the night, various comparisons based on eating habits and temperament emerged. It was eventually decided that the little girls each took after both of the big girls, and everyone was happy. Especially when ice cream was served and Chloe and Lauren’s grandpa let my girls eat most of his mint ice cream cup. Between all the attention and all the sweets, I think my girls wished it was New Year’s Eve every day!
January 1, 2010, at 11:00 pm |
In honor of the New Year, I thought a look back at an old post would be in order. Here’s a blog entry that I wrote last December. That feels like so long ago, especially when I see how tiny the girls were then. I used to have to prop them up like little dolls! Now, they not only sit up on chairs, they can stand, jump, wiggle and do all sorts of things that make me tear my hair out. They even climb onto the chairs themselves if they find a convenient stepstool, like a pillow or a tall toy (I’m still waiting for them to realize they can use each other as a launching pad!). So here’s your blast from the past!
December 26, 2008
I think I finally figured out how to ensure the girls are always on their best behavior: I simply need to cram as many people into our house at all times. The more, the better. We’ve had a busy Christmas holiday, and the girls have performed like champs when called upon. When not called upon (i.e. – at home with just me), they’re wilder than a bunch of monkeys. Speaking of monkeys, here are a few pictures from the Family Zoo:
Susanna on the left: "Did you say there’s a monkey on my shirt?"
"How’d the monkey get on my shirt?"
 "Hmmm…can I eat the monkey?"  "Yum…the monkey is quite tasty!" Anyway, enough monkeying around. Back to my theory: the more people surrounding the girls, the better they’ve behaved. For example, on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, we celebrated with Jim’s parents, aunt, uncle and grandmother. The girls were pretty good, and usually let me stuff my face with all the delicious food I wanted. However, sometimes we could barely get through the salad course before someone started getting noisy. But tonight, we went over to Jim’s parents’ house where they had several families over for dinner, and the girls were good as gold. The evenings are normally their fussiest times, but tonight they smiled and cooed and lounged around as if they were hosting the party themselves. That’s what I stopped and analyzed all the visits we had when we were in California, and they seemed the most relaxed when they were enveloped by the biggest crowds. They certainly don’t take after their parents in this regard!
  The girls may not have been aware of their first Christmas, but they sure made out like bandits in the toy department. Our friends and family were more than generous, and our living room now looks like we robbed a Toys R’ Us.
Here’s a picture of the girls in the darling Christmas outfits given to them by my friend Brittny. Rebecca’s wearing one that says "Santa Loves Me" and Susanna’s says "Good Things Come in Small Packages." Isn’t that the truth!
Now that I’m a mom, I find it even more incredible that the Lord Jesus Christ came into this world as an infant. At nearly five months old, our girls are still so helpless. It’s hard to imagine that the King of kings and Lord of lords was willing to shed His divinity to cloak Himself in humanity. The Bible says that the Lord Jesus Christ "made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death- even death on a cross. Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father" (Phillipians 2:7-11).
December 31, 2009, at 11:00 pm | Our cat, Tommy, is an outdoor cat. I like it that way. I like not having to change a litter box. I like not having to deal with fur all over the house. I like not having to wipe up muddy paw prints.
But I also like making my girls happy.
And they LOVE to have Tommy indoors.
What’s a mom to do?
You can see from the video below that right now…the girls are winning.
December 30, 2009, at 11:00 pm | It’s amazing how one picture can convey impressions of sisterly bonding, affection, and love.
And it’s also amazing how one video can paint a far different picture of sibling interactions!
December 29, 2009, at 10:21 pm | I know I’ve mentioned before that Rebecca is a girly-girl. She loves to put on hats, wear purses on her arms, and clomp around in fancy shoes. But she is equally fascinated by anything with wheels. I brought the girls down to the garage this evening to spend some time with Jim, and Rebecca was thrilled to be able to watch her Dad change the wheels on his car.
Notice she’s even got the “grease monkey†off-the-shoulder overall look going on. I guess this wannabe mechanic/girly-girl knows that the right outfit is critical to get the job done well!
It won’t be long before she’ll be working on cars alongside her dad. She’s already very eager to help.
Susanna, on the other hand, isn’t interested in fixing cars.
She just wants to DRIVE them!
December 28, 2009, at 9:20 pm | What’s yummier than a milk mustache?
A sour cream mustache!
I made the girls quesadilla wedges for dinner tonight, but Rebecca was more interested in licking off the sour cream than eating the tortillas.
And Susanna intently dissected her food instead of eating it.
At least they were happy, if not hungry!
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ABOUT US I'm blessed to be saved by the grace of God, loved by my wonderful husband Jim, and embraced by my twin girls, Rebecca Faith and Susanna Joy and my sons Jimmy and Danny. I started this blog in May 2008 when I was hospitalized for pre-term labor at 24 weeks gestation. The Lord allowed me to keep the girls inside until they were 34 weeks along, and on July 27th, Rebecca made her debut, followed by Susanna, five minutes later, on July 28th. We ecstatically welcomed Jimmy into our lives on April 25th, 2011, and Danny on August 31, 2012. This blog has been a personal journal of faith and motherhood and the only way I can remember which child did what and when. Thanks for stopping by to share in my Faith and Joy! Feel free to e-mail me at: [email protected]. |
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