First Haircut

Brian keeps complaining how much he misses the blog postings, so I thought the girls' first haircut was a good reason to start again.

They did so well! Not a single tear was shed! They sat in the chair very patiently while the hairdressers worked. Unfortunately, poor Maitlyn now looks like she has a bowl cut. I suppose it will grow out nicely. And at least it's better than their mullets!Braiden checking herself out in the mirror.

Maitlyn being very patient.

Babies Need a New Pair of Shoes

We took the girls to get their first pair of shoes this past weekend. It was a vision of the years ahead of us. During the time it took for a salesperson to come over and help us, Braiden managed to take a header into another kid's stroller and get an enormous bruise on her forehead. So in between trying on shoes we were icing down her head.

Maitlyn took off after she tried on her first pair. I guess they don't worry about shoplifting until they can speak.

Nostalgia

So it's been a year, and a wonderful year at that. We made a 2009 calendar with pictures of the babies from each month. It's pretty amazing to look back and see them so tiny. This was Maitlyn on the day we left the hospital:

And this is Maitlyn and Braiden having their first birthday cake:
People always ask if I miss the 'baby' stage, especially now that they are entering the toddler years. But so far I have loved every stage. It's hard to wax nostalgic for all the baby stuff when they are learning and changing so much now. It's pretty amazing to see them do the things the baby books say they are going to start doing--putting lids in and out of containers is currently their favorite pastime. They are running around, interacting with each other, testing their boundaries, learning to climb up slides, and establishing their personalities. It is such a fascinating thing to watch. I feel incredibly blessed that I get to be a part of it.

Happy Birthday!

We survived the first year.

Good Parenting

Several weeks ago, when I was by myself with the girls, they woke up from their afternoon nap in a foul mood. They are usually very grumpy and clingy when they wake up, but this day they were especially cranky. So after going through my bag of tricks to make them happy, I did what any good mother would do---got out the video camera.

Maitlyn

Braiden

Perhaps high schools can use it as birth control...

Gifted Girls

I can understand now why every parent thinks their child is gifted. They spend so long as helpless babies that when they first start learning new things it seems like a miracle. Of course we think our girls are geniuses because they can make the sign for more and milk. We are also pretty impressed by how they 'read' --sit with a pile of books, turn the pages and babble. But today I was floored by Braiden's direct communication with me. She and Maitlyn were banging on Brian's big exercise ball--something I showed them how to do. Then, Braiden reached out, grabbed my hand and put it on the ball. At first I thought it was just cute that she wanted to hold my hand. Then I realized she was telling me to bounce the ball. I bounced it, then stopped and put my hands back in my lap. Once again, Braiden grabbed my hand and put it on the ball. Genius, pure genius!

And while we're on the subject of Braiden, who knew the temper tantrum drama queen would turn out to be the lovey dovey one? Today, when Djina (my friend Angela's baby) was visiting, Braiden leaned down and kissed her on the forehead. It was really more of just a slobber, but an unmistakable sign of affection.

More, More, More

Braiden seems to have learned the sign for 'more'. All day today she was making the sign and smiling. Although I suspect she may just be doing it to get a positive reaction out of me, since she made the sign on the changing table as well. Who knows, maybe diaper changes make her hungry!

Maitlyn sort of makes the sign, but mostly bangs on her high chair when she wants more. We'll get there....