Happy Birthday, Caroline

Happy second birthday Caroline. We all hope you have a wonderful day and an even better year. We miss you, love you and hope to see you soon!

Out for a ride

As a cap on his workout Chip has been pulling the boys up the hill in our neighborhood after his runs. If you've been to our house you know that the hill is nothing to sneeze at. The boys really enjoy it. I took this picture a couple of days ago when it was not too cold but very windy. Meredith gave them these boggans and gloves for their birthday. They are fascinated by the gloves and hold their fingers straight out for minutes at a time when we put them on.

It arrived!

The panda arrived on Monday. I have to say that he/she didn't get quite the reception I was envisioning. I was expecting big smiles, maybe clapping and a sprint across the room. Charlie was only mildly interested at first. Jack was far more welcoming, giving his panda a big hug right off (I'm no dumby and ordered one for each boy just in case they both fell in love.) Since their first meeting Charlie has become quite a bit more interested but he still isn't carrying it around like he does the puzzle piece. At least I can say I've offered him something more cuddly and if he sticks to the wood that's just a personal preference.

PANDA!

If you've been to our house in the past month or so you've probably had to repeat panda more than twice. The boys have this animal book with one animal on each page and for some reason Charlie loves the panda. He will turn to the panda page and tap it with his finger until you say panda, over and over and over again. In the past couple of days he has started to carry around the panda piece out of their zoo puzzle. It makes me feel a little guilty to think that my child has to carry around a wooden puzzle piece so I've ordered him a stuffed panda that should be here by Monday but I took this picture for posterity's sake.

Finally, proof.

It has taken a long time to get this video and in the process his walking has improved quite a bit. He has been getting more and more brave by the day and walking about 5 steps at a time between the couch and me etc. But it's hard to get a video and catch him when we are here by ourselves. I finally got this yesterday when Mimi came to visit. He's improved to about 10-12 steps and is far more steady even than he was in this video.

Recent Developments

The boys are growing so fast. We went to the doctor last Tuesday for their "15 month" check-up (even though they are now 16 months). Both are growing and developing well. Jack weighs 26lbs 14 oz and is 31.5 inches. Charlie weighs 26lbs 1.5oz and is 32.75 inches. It was finally cold enough that day for them to wear their sweaters and boy did they look handsome.

They are talking more and more now. Currently favorites are ball, yeah and no-no. Jack is working on learning uht-oh but so far will just say uht. I'm fairly certain they have their own language too.

On Saturday Jack had a small run in with a tree and got his first band-aid worthy boo-boo. I'm going to have to get some "little boy" band-aids. He did take the opportunity to start walking though. So far he is pretty secretive about it but hopefully we'll be able to get it on film in the next couple of days and post it for all to see.

A constant companion

The boys are really starting to relate to each other. They frequently tackle or pen one another. Peek-a-boo is a constant game these days between them. It is really cute to see them play together and usually results in lots of giggles from both of them. (Only occasionally do they bite.) They look for each other any time they are separated now even for a few minutes. Jack has even tried to say something that I think is supposed to be brother a couple of times. A week or so ago we tried coloring one afternoon. Charlie ate about half of the green crayon (thank goodness for non-toxics) and Jack just wanted to throw the crayons around. We probably won't color again for a couple of months.