First Birthday

I've been neglecting the blog lately. Nora and Milo turned 1! I'll try to put up some pictures soon. They have changed so much in just the last couple of weeks. Nora is standing up by herself all the time now, balancing for a while before needing to grab on to something. Milo can say (and recognize) doggie. Yesterday I taught Nora to show us one finger to say that she is one. Today I heard Greg ask Milo to wait and Milo did the sign for wait. Also today I told Milo to put the block on the drum and he did it. He understands on and off and in and out, and likes doing all of those things over and over again with his toys. I also saw Milo do the sign for more when I said more, and Nora has signed milk. If we weren't super lame with signing, they'd be doing a lot more. What they're doing now is just what they've mostly picked up from my mom and the twin whisperer. I need to remember to sign more with them.

If we ask the babies to pat the tray or to wave, they can do those things. Their receptive language is growing by leaps and bounds. Nora likes to shake her head no, and she also likes to dance when music is on. I've also been hearing Nora say "ball", which is still Milo's favorite word. They will also both say "night night" at bedtime. It's just amazing what they're learning every day.

The babies are developing issues with sharing now. Milo is starting to get to the point where he'll place something in your hands sometimes. He has a little walker that he absolutely loves, but when Nora approaches that walker when he's using it, he freaks out. The other day I actually saw him forcibly remove her hand from the walker. So the kids are already having to learn some hard lessons about sharing at this early age. At the same time, they're also really interacting with each other when they play. They'll chase each other around the room, and if one person does something like patting a toy, the other will mimic.

The babies seemed to have a good birthday. They had a nice dinner that included smoked salmon, which they both liked. They were actually a little cautious with their cake, not smashing it into their faces, but they liked it. I baked two cakes, a chocolate one with white frosting for Nora and a white cake with chocolate frosting for Milo. Now we have way too much cake in the house. Milo got really excited about his cake in the end, which led to an evening full of outrageous excitement. We popped open a bottle of champagne and toasted surviving the year. After a year of parenting twins we're all still here, alive, and we're even still married! I can't wait to see what next year brings.