My Faith and Joy… and Boys!

Even though the girls are still slightly under the weather, the temperature outside remained anything but “under.”  Who ever heard of 92 degrees in April?    I was feeling cramped in our germ-infested house, so we ventured outside for a stroll.  We picked a local street with plenty of shade and enjoyed the slight breeze and budding foliage.  When I was feeling a bit overheated, we ducked into the nearby library where we drew a bit of attention from the librarians (they assured me that theirs was not a very quiet library, so I needn’t worry that their cries of delight at seeing their new young patrons were disturbing anyone).  We meandered into the children’s section, and I started dreaming of a soon-coming day when I could curl up with the girls on one of their many oversized bean bag chairs and read stories to them.  I just hope that the librarians will continue to be accommodating of noise, since I’m sure my girls’ lungs will be generating plenty!

Here are a few pictures I snapped during our time outside: 

We’re back!  We just returned from visiting our friends and family in Pennsylvania.  I’m too tired to fully describe our time there, so I’ll just say that it was a wonderful, fun-filled weekend.  Here are a few pictures of the girls playing with their friends, Gavin and Mason.  I’m not sure who was being entertained by who – but regardless, the kids were happy, so the parents were happy!

The kids size each other up. 

Gavin assures Rebecca she’ll soon grow hair.

Mason teaches Susanna the fine art of stealing toys from one’s sibling.

Gavin shows Susanna the powers of a Batman computer.

Susanna then teaches Mason what she’s learned. 

I know it’s too early for the girls to be talking, but sometimes I think Becky might be onto something.  My mother-in-law watched the girls for me this afternoon while I did some spring cleaning, so I was away from them for several hours.  When I went over to her house to pick them up, I walked upstairs into the room where Becky was playing.  She saw me and instantly started kicking her legs, grinning and exclaimed… “Mama!”  I know, I know, she was probably just babbling like she usually does.  But it was a wonderfully appropriate and endearing babble, don’t you agree?! 

I would generally characterize Becky as more laid-back than her sister (although this wasn’t always the case.  For the first few months of the girls’ lives, I would have said the opposite). Susie’s moods are currently more intense than Becky’s; when Susie is happy, her whole body seems to smile, and when she’s upset, she’s miserable.  Becky is rather content and mellow, except for when she gets excited.  She pants, grins, and bounces as if she just found out she’s heading to Disneyworld.  She now does this adorable gesture where she swings her hands back and forth as if she’s brushing them off.  I think she’s trying to clap, but rather than bringing her hands together so that the palms touch, she frantically swipes them up and down against each other.  This movement is usually accompanied by a gulping noise that sounds as if she’s chugging back a drink.  I haven’t yet been able to catch this mood on video, but I was able to capture her squealing in delight.  Here’s a video of her bouncing in her jumperoo.  She’s jumping up and down with all her might, and then she stops and squeals as if she’s incredibly pleased with her jumping prowess.  May she always take such pride in a job well done!

In order to avoid constantly doing laundry because of messes like this:

I’ve resorted to occasionally doing this:

The girls don’t seem to mind eating while naked. 

Now if only I could figure out a way to avoid bathing them all the time… 

Yesterday, the girls and I went to a state park to take advantage of the warm weather.  While I luxuriated in the 70 degree sunny weather, the girls enjoyed people watching.  It was a delightful way to spend the afternoon.  The girls were so good at the park that I decided to press my luck and try taking them out to dinner.  The girls must have sensed that I was in need of a low-key evening, because they behaved very well at the restaurant and even allowed me to eat almost my whole meal without bouncing someone on my knee.  It helped that I kept them quiet by continually popping bite-sized snacks into their open mouths – but hey, what’s a restaurant for, if not shoveling food in our faces!

Susanna

Rebecca

I couldn’t help but post this one last picture.  Doesn’t it look like Rebecca’s calling out, “Ack!  Don’t let that bird poop on me!”