Girls and Their Hats

LIESEL likes her hats.

 She picks this and the pink pail up whenever they are within reach and puts it on her head. She doesn't need to wear it anylonger, but she will occasionally put the ThudGuard on her head too. And sometimes she just decides that EJ is not fully dressed without a hat, so she will try to put one on his head!

Now that the weather has become consistently cool, they are spending more time in their footed pajamas. These do not provide much traction on the hardwood floor. So they both slip and slide a lot thereby increasing the chance of a bad fall. The shoes help as does being barefoot. Dad now thinks part of Buggy's problem with falling was a traction problem. The ThudGuard helped, but ultimately she needed better traction to stay up right. Her desire to walk on her toes contributes to it too.

Fatigue contributes too. When she is tired she falls more frequently.

Still, when she falls she does not protect her head like Buddy does. He tucks and roles. She just goes splat on her head, face, whatever.

Update: The Twin's New Shoes

RECENTLY New Family friend Missi H. visited Chicago for an all too brief time. While here everyone went to the mall where Missi bought the Twins new shoes.

OK, time to admit it. Dad loves Buggy's shoes (silver and pink above). Before the Twins were born (perhaps even before Dad met Mom) Dad LOVED to see toddlers walking around in shoes with flashing LEDs. And guess what?

Yup! They light up! Time to go to the drive in movie and walk around!

Today the Parents went back to the mall to exchange Buggy's shoes. They fit well enough now but after additional thought they came to the conclusion the next size up would be preferable. While there, Dad asked the clerk if they had any LED shoes for Buddy. They did and the Parents exchanged those too.

These have the same five LED pattern that light up in sequence as Buggy's shoes. Dad tried to catch the sequence in frame, but gave up after a minute because the Family was demanding his attention.


Thank you again Missi! Now the twins can go styling around in awesome shoes!

Buggy Watches TV

DAD left the plastic step stool out recently after having pulled it into the room to work out. The Twins have climbed it before, never past the bottom rung. But this time, Buggy the Adventurous climbed up to the top perch to get a better vantage point of the TV, where she sat for a while perched on her stool. When Buddy came to investigate, she pushed him away.

Liesel's Hair

BUGGY'S hair is growing longer and into a nice curl.

Destroying the Playspace

EJ, in one of the multiple playspaces in the house, looks over the wall. Something has got his attention.

 What is down there?

It is a Buggy!

 She managed to push the playspace fence away from the wall and get behind it to play. They both then proceeded to do their best to destroy it.

Captain Destructo!

Update: Mums

TULIPS and Mums, the only two flower species Dad can identify or care about. Both occur during the temperate months he so loves.

The following were a gift from Aunt Heather. Dad like. 

Mom traveled to Tourist Trap Town in mid state IL and bought these back.

Newest Behaviors

THE Twins having taken to attacking their Parent's legs. They will run at them at full speed (actually, when do they ever toddle at anything less than full speed?), crash into Mom or Dad's legs, and squeeze in between. They like pushing through the Parent's legs back and forth over and over again.

They like to chase and be chased. Once they have run out of space to run, they giggle and laugh with delight. It seems to Dad the game of Tag never had to be invented, it occurred naturally out of what children probably do anyway.

They are allowed out of their several play spaces to toddle around the house when Mom or Dad has the time and energy to supervise them. They love it, but wish they could access their bedroom (the door is closed and locked), the bathroom, and Mom and Dad's room. Thus when they here a door opening, they race for the opportunity to gain entrance. This can be difficult because they are too heavy for Mom or Dad to pick up both at the same time. Thus the Parents have to remove and secure the one first, listen to him protest, then remove the other. Lately Dad has been trying to lead them around by the hand to limited success. It depends on how much they really want to be in the off-limits areas.

Buddy saw Buggy kissing herself in the mirror and decided to imitate her. When Dad noticed, he came over to enjoy and Buddy caught Dad's reflection. He giggled, but seemed amazed that Dad appeared in the mirror while also appearing behind him when he turned his head around.

They play well together for limited periods, but will eventually need separation. Buggy in particular likes her alone time. When she begins to protest and there is no obvious cause (diaper, food, sleep), Dad will isolate her where she will gladly play, sing, and laugh. Buddy does well playing by himself, but being the more sociable one, rarely gets tired of others company.

Dad has recently tried to teach them about pockets. Buddy gets it, you can put stuff into it and retrieve it, it doesn't "go away," but he just doesn't care. Buggy does not seem to understand that an object placed in her pocket (or Dad's) is retrievable.

When well rested, fed, and not having any other need, they are great observers and will imitate many behaviors- their Parent's and each others. EJ learned how to open a door simply by observation and trial and error.

Buggy seems to demonstrate empathy for her brother. When he protests, she will sometimes try to offer him something as consolation. She has a long history of this behavior, but as she matures it becomes more and more apparent that it is a motivated, deliberate act.

They like to swipe stuff from each other causing the other one to protest. Even when Dad offers the identical item to the one, he will not always accept it. He wants the one that was taken away from him.

Teach Them Sign Language?

AUNT Laurie suggested several times before the Twins were born that the Parents teach them sign language to help them communicate before they can speak. Dad agreed with this advice. Aunt Laurie claimed that she had taught her daughter signs for "more" and "no" to indicate whether Cousin Pearl wanted more food or not.

Dad did not know that it would be the Twins that taught him sign language. Instead of adopting his motions and gestures, they came up with their own. Anything they do not want more of, they will clearly hold up their hand as if to indicate "no, stop" in conjunction with turning their head away. Force them to take it anyway, and they will throw the unwanted object down.

Buggy in particular requires the Parents to offer her only a small quantity of food. Load up her tray with food she does not want and it will all end up on the floor. Buddy will just ignore it. 

Don't Teach 'em What You Don't Want 'em to Learn

DAD decided the Twins needed to learn about pockets. Their outfits have pockets, so Dad placed a small toy into each Child's pocket and allowed them to retrieve it.

This fascinated them for a good five minutes, until Dad placed his own cell phone into his pocket. EJ lost interest in his own pocket and promptly went to retrieve it. Dad allowed him to do so and even encouraged Buggy to do so. She was easily frustrated because she could not easily remove it.

After five more minutes, with each Twin becoming frustrated that they could not keep the cellphone they retrieved, Dad stood and put his pockets out of reach. This prompted howls of protest. Dad regretted sharing the secret of the pocket with them.

A bottle and nap quickly followed.