The boys have more teeth coming in although they are quite tight-lipped about the whole thing! Just kidding. It is difficult to discern what is coming as they don't sit still for long but it looks like Nathan is getting his top centers and Thomas has 2 more coming in on the bottom.

We have been outside walking and just hanging out in the back yard. So wonderful!

Nathan is transitioning from his pack-n-play to his crib. Starting last Monday, he has both day-time naps in the big crib and sleeps the night in his old bed. The next step is to get rid of the pacifier, but I figure one thing at a time.

They are doing great eating. They have been pretty clear that they have had enough mashed fruit and cereal and they want what we eat.

We are headed out now for a few errands.

love,

Last night, the boys slept in the same room! A first time since their hospital days! The best part...it went well. I heard Nathan cry twice and by the time I got my robe on and to their door, all was quiet. Both of today's naps were together and we have the same sleeping arrangements tonight even through my cousin has left. It would be really nice to have a guest room available again!

It was so lovely out today that after our walk, we sat out in the backyard. They both crawled but after some consternation with the prickly grass. After I brought the boys in, I saw Thomas munching away...he was chewing a piece of pine cone.

So now you see why I have to strategically get into my fridge. If the door opens, they b-line for it. Then they throw a fit when I remove them from the fridge.

Thomas is still biting Nat! han any time he gets frustrated. I feel bad for Nathan, but Thomas waits until I'm out of the room to do it. This morning, I had just finished nursing both of them, left the room to get a hot washcloth...we're talking about 1 minute, tops. Next thing I know, Nathan is crying. Thomas gets this look like he doesn't know what's going on. I didn't see the mark until I had Nathan's clothes off...it was on his arm. It's not leaving bruises, but I know it must hurt.

All for now,
love,

An early birthday present from Patti and Tony DeMoura...robeez (wow how do you make that plural??) The boys have no complaints about their slippers. I like them because now their socks stay clean and also I think their feet must be warmer.

We are having one of those days where all they do is wander around the house getting in trouble! I feel like a big meany today. We have a second cousin from Iowa staying over night with us last night and tonight. Nathan slept in our room last night. He cries very loud when he wakes in the night. I was hoping that being right there, I could nip it in the bud, but no. His latest thing is to wake around midnight and refuse to leave my arms for over a hour. Not sure what is going on, but we usually end up coming out to my rocking chair and snoozing together.

Both boys are repeatedly letting go and standing on t! heir own for as much as 5-10 seconds.

Thomas finally started clapping the other day!

One of my favorite things with Thomas is to get him giggling. One of my favorite things to see Nathan do is snuggle down in his bed. When you first put him down and cover him up, he wiggles around just until he finds the right position...it's very cute to watch.

We are seeing more and more of Matt in Thomas. Not always easy to pinpoint what it is, but such a strong resemblance.

Not that this is related to the previous paragraph, but we are seeing a little more defiance in both boys. I have an awful time keeping a straight face. We have 3 very minor rules, no pounding on the bookcase doors (glass!), no playing with my computer power cord and no playing with the fireplace tools. That's it! But can they leave those things be? No! They get this little evil grin when I catch them. Or they try the "how can you possibly be mad at such a cute face" smile. They are full of it!

all for now,

Just thought it would be a nice idea to remind you what was going on a year ago...

;-)

Thomas isn't even a year old yet and he is already "on" the computer! Wow, what a smartie. Nathan may be shorter, but just as determined to clear all the surfaces he can reach in the house! The demolition brothers keep busy!

We went out to eat for the first time last night with the boys and my parents. We all thoroughly enjoyed it! We went to Longfellow's Wayside Inn and had a lovely sit down dinner. We were warmly welcomed and made very comfortable. It hardly matters where we go for the twins to bring out the best in people. People almost always do a double take when they see two. Mostly it's grandmothers that will start a conversation with me but it's very heartening in this cold dark world to see people turn to mush when it comes to babies. So, next time you see twins, make a fuss over them and their mom! Anyways, we went to dinner at 5 so that we could get home at a dece! nt hour. The boys ate what we ate and we took them for walks a couple of times when we had a short wait. The only sort of negative thing that happened was when the old coot at the next table went into gory detail about his urethra to which we all rolled our eyes and talked a little louder.

Thomas is throwing a ball now. Well actually, he raises it to eye level and plops it onto the floor in your direction to which I madly clap and cheer. I think he has the idea. Nathan sits and giggles at you when you tell him to throw the ball.

We are definitely making progress with drinking out of a cup. I usually hold it up to their mouth to which they loudly slurp some of it up. I do try to leave about 1/2 inch of water in the bottom so that they can work on doing it themselves. Thomas literally threw the water in his face, something a sippy cup is never going to teach him not to do!

all for now,
love,

Just a couple of pictures from today. The boys got their last synergine shot this afternoon. They were both very brave.

Thomas is getting more courage to climb! He got up on the dishwasher door all by himself without any commotion as we didn't even notice until he was up and settled. He can now reach the keys on our piano which is quickly becoming a favorite pastime.

The boys just thought this little bike was the best! They both received rides...Nathan's feet don't quite reach, but Thomas can which makes me want to measure his height again. Nothing is safe around here! Thomas was hanging from the edge of the kitchen table tonight! How can it be that he can reach it!

Every time Thomas was enjoying something, he had his tongue sticking way out. It was really quite silly looking.

must get to bed as out sleeping has been quite awful the last week.
love,

As you can tell, I've given up on keeping babies away from dog toys. I figure, the bigger deal I make out of them touching and yes, tasting, the dog toys the longer they will find them interesting.

I tried to show you Nathan's hair, but it's so fair and the picture is reduced, so I'm afraid it's not visible. It hangs over his ears which if the wind is just right, makes him look shaggy (just like his father!...did I just type that?). I have a feeling the barber would laugh at us, if we showed up with Nathan and yet, I fear going near him with a pair of scissors! I think we'll just wait a bit longer.

We had a day visit from my sister, Laura today. We had such a nice time. It was over 60F today, so we out and about getting a foretaste of spring! We did stop at the library where I had to own up to my older son tearing the title page out of one of my novels. The circul! ation help was very kind and let us off the hook, but I was prepared to buy them a new book. This was my fault, though, I left it on the floor one night at the early stages of Thomas crawling.

All for now,
love,

Doesn't Thomas look so innocent in photo 4320? Well, he definitely is not. This is how it goes here...Thomas wanders around poking and prodding into Everything while Nathan tags just a little behind watching the events unfold and taking notes.

Thomas has finally figured out that he can pull himself into a stand in his bed at anytime! So, pretty much, unless I rock him to sleep (a real hardship!), he won't stay in the horizontal position long enough to fall asleep on his own. He's just so excited to get himself up. I haven't the heart to get cross with him because he really thinks he's so smart! Another little milestone that Thomas has figured out just today is how to "let go" of whatever he is standing against so that he can sit down to crawl. This doesn't sound like much unless it's you that has to go rescue him! I feel like I rave about Thomas' little accomplishments and say ver! y little about Nathan's. Nathan just seems to be more agile and has more confidence to just try on his own. Nathan's latest notable doing is his balancing up on one knee. One of these days, he's just going to stand all the way up.

Off to bed,
love,

The last few times I've vacuumed, the boys follow me around and try to help out! They love it. I'm not sure why, but I hope to enlist them as soon as they get it figured out. I'm glad the sound doesn't bother them. Of course, my only rule is that nobody touches the cord but me!

The picture of Thomas getting around was especially cool seeing as he started at our couch and made it all the way out to the kitchen shuffling along standing up! I wonder if he'll walk first? Thomas currently seems to be the more curious of the two. Nathan will find a toy and play with that, but Thomas has pulled lamps down (yes, Dad, the one you fixed is now in the garbage can), knocked over the fireplace tools and was found checking out my files under my desk (see explorer picture). Thankfully, he hasn't gotten hurt yet. Have I mentioned recently how glad I am that they aren't identical?

Busy day tomorrow, so I'll sign off now.
love to each,
Jungle Gym Jen
a.k.a. Mount Jennymore

Happy 11 months!

Just a quick update....the boys are well and enjoying their freedom found on all four
with a little elbow grease. The only black cloud is that the boys fight. I feel like a referee. Thomas especially gets on Nathan (literally) although I think I have seen Nathan instigate it. Of course, if they are tired, hungry or "guarding" their territory, they are quick to go at it.

We watched about 30 wild turkeys in our yard the other afternoon!

I'm working with the boys to learn to drink from a cup this week. They are both very interested. This morning, I was drinking my (very cool) coffee in the living room with the boys while they played. Nathan came over and plopped down on my lap, saw me drinking and held his mouth open for me to give him some! Too cute. No coffee for t! hose boys, yet!

I'm happy to see both boys work their way around in a room standing up from one piece of furniture to the next.

all for now,