So Sorry

I know it has been terrible with the lack of posts. I have been swamped with work, and each day that goes by I feel more and more guilty. I know I need to post some update pictures, which I promise to do this weekend. Here are some updates:

• Emily is saying "No!" a lot. Even though we know it's a phase, and she doesn't really mean it, she definitely acts like she means it. When we offer her food that we know she likes, she will say "NO!" and scrunch up her face and turn away.
• Ella and Emily talk more to each other, like asking one another to sit with them or play with them. It's SUPER cute!
• Ella and Emily both have ouchies on their chins - I think one of them bumped it on a table and the other one fell at the park.
• They still wake up once or twice during the night. They go to sleep around 9:00 or 9:15 and wake up around 7:15.
• Everyone is doing well.

Thanks!

Toddler Talk, Part 2

The twins are saying so many new words, but they also say a lot of "adapted" words - words that are shortened or changed from their adult version. I know if I don't write some of these down, we'll forget them.
Toddler = Adult
Wiwi = Wiggle
Ganpa = Grandpa
Gama = Grandma
Blankie = Blanket
Wawa = Water
Rara = Rabbit
Hep = Help
Ps = Please (basically, take out all the vowels and the "l")
Dwa = Draw
Many = Medicine

I know there are more, so I'll work them in with the list of new words they are saying. Speaking of that, here are some new words from this week:
Uncle
Rabbit - They finally got this down, sort of
Shhh - They can make that soft sh sound; whereas, before, it was just the S

Their First Song

Well, this morning marked another first. Sarah taught the twins to sing "Tomorrow" from Annie. I may have the title wrong, but it's the one that goes:

"Tomorrow, tomorrow
I love ya' tomorrow
You're only a day away"

They both sang it after dinner together, with Sarah leading. Very cute. I got a little on video with my small digital camera, which I will upload later.

More New Words

I have to keep these short if I'm going to hope to keep them up on a regular basis. :)

On Tuesday, I was buckling Ella in her car seat when she asked for her drawing toy. It wasn't in the car, so I said, "I'm sorry, it's inside. We'll get it later." I swear she said, "Sheesh" to me. As in, "Geez, papa, you didn't think to bring it." Sarah thinks it was more a coincidence because I had said sheesh a minute earlier. Either way, that was her new word.

Then yesterday, we were watching TV and someone said "shucks." I swear Ella and Emily just copied that person exactly. I thought it was funny.

Today's New Word

We went to Cafe Delicias for dinner, and the twins sat in a booth - no booster seat or anything. They're still a bit young, but Cafe D. already had other babies using them. Anyway, Emily was next to me - I was on the outside of the booth and she was on the inside near the wall. I pointed to a space between the wall and the booth and said "hole." She repeated it, so that was her new word for today.

Also, on Sunday, Emily wanted to sit on the Potty Chair. She didn't do anything, but it was the first time she said she needed to use it. About 10 minutes after we took her off, she went potty in her diaper. So, she's getting close.

Today's New Words

I'm going to start a series of posts , starting with this one, that list new words that I hear the twins say for the first time. Today, there are two:
Garbage
Stay

Toddler Talk

Okay, so Sarah really encouraged me to post this, so you'll need to thank her. The twins are starting to make sentences. I think they max out at three words, but it's very exciting!

Last Monday, something miraculous happened. Ella and Emily were sitting on the couch next to Sarah. I was in my favorite chair. The twins were drawing in their little notepads. Ella asked Sarah to draw in her notepad by saying "Mama" and pointing to her pad. Then Emily started drawing in Ella's notepad, too, but then stopped. Next thing we heard was Ella asking Emily to ,"Draw here please" or "Emily, draw please" and then she would tap the page in her notepad.

Yesterday, Ella and Emily were rocking in my blue Lay-Z-Boy recliner. Emily got up and went around to the back of the recliner to play. Next thing Sarah heard was Ella patting the empty spot on the chair next to her and saying, "Emily, sit please." Oh, I was so bummed I missed it, but it was wonderful to hear Sarah describe it.

Emily is close behind her, too. We think she almost put three words together today, so it should happen any day now.

Counting

This morning Sarah and the twins were in the front room watching some birds outside. Sarah asked Ella how many birds there were, and she said, "One. Two..." Sarah leaped for joy since this is the first time they've counted like that. She carried both girls in here and asked them to count. With a little encouragement, they counted to two. Not to three, yet.

This weekend

Sarah got the tricycles out and the girls had fun playing around the house.

Also, I know I've said this over and over, but it is amazing how quickly the twins are picking up new words. Today they said Ernie (from Sesamie Street), allowed as in "whining is not allowed," and at least one or two other words we've never heard them say before. It seems like every couple days, they're saying new words. Awesome!

Snow Day!

Last night, the twins had a BLAST coloring on the walls of their bath tub. Sarah helped.

Today was great fun! We had snow, and quite a bit in the morning. It stuck on the ground for least half the day, and I think there are still a few small patches. The twins enjoyed watching it from the front windows.

Change of subjects, I was quite happily surprised today at how well Emily is saying the word "Hello."

Enjoy the pictures.

More Communications

Two days ago, I saw Ella give me a new sign. When she wants us to give her something, she points to her hand. So she holds one hand open, palm up, then takes her other index finger and taps her palm. She did it to me when she wanted my Nintendo DS and then later when she wanted our water markers.

Also, Emily started shaking her head when she means No. Previously, she only turned her head to the side. Now she does a combination of the two.

We're still progressing with getting them to sleep in their own beds. The night before last, they went down about 9:30 pm and Emily woke up at 4:00 am. Ella didn't wake up until after 6:00. They both went back to sleep, at least until about 6:45 am. Then last night, they went to sleep around 8:30 pm. Again, Emily woke up first, but not until 6:15 am and Ella didn't wake up until about 6:35 am. It's been working out very well!

Another First - Big Girl Cups

Last night at dinner, we gave the twins milk from a small (non-sippy) cup. We let them drink it using their own hands. That is a first - we've given them drinks from cups, but we always held it ourselves. It was probably more of a thrill for us than the girls. For the most part, they drank it fine. Ella spilled some towards the end on her shirt and in her lap.

A couple other quick updates:
The girls slept 10 hours straight last night, from 8:30 - 6:50.
They are saying words a lot more now, like "up" when they want to be picked up, and "more" when they want more to eat, and I think the newest is "help" when they want something. Also, I've heard Emily say Abby (one of our dog's names). They're saying so much now, it's sometimes hard to keep track.

More Talking

The twins are saying more and more words. The biggest change was that they don't "whine" or "screech" as much when they want something. Instead, they say Mama or Papa. In a related story, they are sleeping better through the night, but when they do wake up, they often say Papa instead of just crying. It's pretty neat.

Emily is getting at least one more tooth. It hasn't broken through, yet, but her gums are very red and she's been cranky. I'm sure it'll pop through in the next few days.

As for me, I'm going to the gym now. Sarah gave me a gym membership for Christmas and I have been seven times in eight days; although, to be fair, I went twice the first day - once to sign up (and I did workout) and a second time for a class.

Pictures

We misplaced the camera for several days. Sarah just found it a few minutes ago, so I'll upload some photos later (hopefully today).


Also, a couple updates:

• We're continuing to get them to sleep on their own. Some nights are better than others.
• They really are saying Mama and Papa more often now when they want something, rather than just whining or yelling to get our attention.
• They're enjoying their toys from Christmas. They love when we read to them, so the books are seeing a lot of action. They also got some water washable markers that they play with in the bath tub.
• We went down to my Dad and Roberta's house in Sacramento this morning and had a good time. The girls were shy at first - they don't see Grandpa Bud and Pa-Pa (Roberta) often enough. But within 30 minutes or less, they had warmed up. We stayed down there about three hours and had lunch with them.
• Ella is getting another tooth in the lower-left part of her mouth.

The Girls Saw Santa!

Yesterday, Sarah and Sherri took the twins to see Santa. He was visiting our little town of Auburn. He really likes Auburn and stops here a lot. Fortunately, there wasn't a line of kids waiting to see him, so the twins got right in. From what I hear, Santa's little helper was very nice and took lots of pictures. The North Pole Developing Company (NPDC) is preparing our pictures now. We'll be picking them up at the Auburn branch on Thursday, so I'll be sure to post them on this blog.

We also did another Christmas related activity yesterday. Around 8:15 last night, we loaded the girls into the car and drove around Auburn looking at Christmas lights. Our neighborhood is quite impressive, if I do say so myself. If you want to check out some pretty lights, come by and drive around Canal and Calloway streets. Another good neighborhood to check out is Incline off Dairy Rd. Several wonderful displays. We also went to the Atwood Bail Bonds, which is spectacular as always. Every year gets better, but this year is especially amazing. It boggles my mind to think how much electricity he uses. By the time we got home, it was a little after 9:00 and Emily had fallen asleep. Ella took a little nap earlier in the evening, so she was awake. We put Emily to bed and Sarah cozied up to Ella on the Lay-Z-Boy until they both fell asleep.

Final update from yesterday is not Christmas related, but is about the twins' development. Yesterday, when Sarah was feeding them, Ella reached for some cereal and let out her usual soft yell, making sure Mama knew she wanted more. Sarah said, "Ella, no. Say 'more'." And she did. And then the next time Ella was about to reach for the cereal and yell, Sarah could see her stop just as she was about to screech and instead, Ella said "more." Emily quickly followed suit.

Their Words

Ella is doing most of the talking these days. Between the two of them, they can say:
Uh-oh
No
Dog
Diaper
Doctor
Mama
Papa

Updates

The twins now say, "Uh-oh." As everything else, it is very cute. They started saying it the other day when I said, "Uh-oh, mom forgot her purse."

Also, they are getting upper molars now.

More Words

As of this morning, Sherri started teaching them to wag their fingers and say uh-uh (as in no-no) when they do something they shouldn't. Emily has the hang of it, big time!

More Planting and Other Updates

We planted all weekend, Sarah, Sherri, the twins, and I. Even though it is hard work, this is definitely the most excited I've ever been about plants. The girls had the most fun today, I think. They got to swing around in mama's and grandma's arms, played in the dirt, and got soaked by the hose.



Also, both girls have some molars popping through. And we're transitioning them from using signs into talking more. They vocalize a LOT, but they don't say a lot of words. So, starting yesterday, we're officially phasing out the signs and encouraging them to speak. They seem to have a good grasp of dog, Dada, Papa, Mama, and other sounds that could be words soon.

More Teeth!

Last weekend, Sarah noticed that the twins were getting some more teeth. Now Ella is getting three more and Emily one or two.

Also, the twins are really saying words now - Dada, Mama, and even Ella (sort of). Emily I think is a little too hard still. But what's even cooler is that they are trying to say lots of other words and they are doing it without us prompting. Like today I was saying the word "dip" and they started repeating it. They've also been imitating animal sounds for the past several days. Cow, cat, dog.