Cameron loves to walk around like this now...practicing her skills. Timothy is a super fast crawler, so many people comment on how fast he gets around, so I think that's why he isn't really interested in walking just yet. He can get from A to B much faster on his hands and knees...and that's all that matters to him right now.
Between pushing their cars and pushing the walker...we have a highway in our hallway!
and occasionally we have a little fender binder...beep, beep!
Cameron enjoying her snack time and Timo chasing the pigeons in at the playground.
Timo headed straight out to pick and eat the flowers. It's impossible to keep him from eating dirt!
Getting in his daily exercise of pushing the stroller and Cameron giving me flowers she picked.
Cameron practicing her standing skills...she is so proud of herself!
Sharing one bid wasn't working out too well so I got another one down. They climbed in and out over and over again. 
Timmie's tray they pulled down and had the best time just sitting in it...go figure!
Sorry this post is a little late...I was waiting until their 1 year doctor's apt to have all the stats. My friend Claudia went with us because Young was out of town. Thank you Claudia!!! You can imagine the chaos of getting two babies undressed, weighed, checked out and entertained all at the same time. Anyway, it looks like Timo has recovered from his pneumonia and his lungs sound clear. He still wheezes off and on so we're to use his little inhaler when needed. The big shocking news was that Cameron has actually LOST weight from her 9mo apt. A whopping 6 ounces...which is a lot in baby weight. She is over 3 pounds lighter than her brother. So I have orders to beef her up, let her graze all day if she wants and give her time to eat at each meal. What ends up happening is Timothy is such a fast eater while Cameron likes to talk and eat at her own pace. He inhales all his food in 5min (just like his father) and then starts playing and throwing food. So I get him down while Cameron finishes. Well, she gets distracted by him playing with her chair, she starts throwing food. I figure she is done too and I get her down. Now I'm gonna need put him in another room when he is done and try to feed her more. And she will get snacks in between meals too. Plus, she still doesn't have teeth so finding new, fun food she can eat is always a challenge. We go back in a month to weigh in and see what happens. The doctor doesn't think it's serious, just that she is burning more calories than she is taking in. So she doesn't need to weigh a lot, she just needs to be gaining weight.
Timothy had the best time pushing all the cars around...Cameron is enjoying her ride!
I had trouble keeping the kids seated in the wagon so the ride didn't last long. Then it was off to the little house where they played peek-a-boo through the windows.
I just had to post this Dear Abby question that a friend of mine posted on her Facebook page. I thought it was a great pick-me-up for us stay home moms that often get asked or often insinuated to us..."what do you do all day?"
Okay. I've done Internet searches, I've talked to parents. I don't get it. What do stay-at-home moms do all day? Please no lists of library, grocery store, dry cleaners . . . I do all those things, too, and I don't do them EVERY DAY. I guess what I'm asking is: What is a typical day and why don't moms have time for a call or e-mail? I work and am away from home nine hours a day (plus a few late work events) and I manage to get it all done. I'm feeling like the kid is an excuse to relax and enjoy -- not a bad thing at all -- but if so, why won't my friend tell me the truth? Is this a peeing contest ("My life is so much harder than yours")? What's the deal? I've got friends with and without kids and all us child-free folks get the same story and have the same questions.Tacoma, Wash.
Relax and enjoy. You're funny.
Or you're lying about having friends with kids.
Or you're taking them at their word that they actually have kids, because you haven't personally been in the same room with them.
Internet searches?
I keep wavering between giving you a straight answer and giving my forehead some keyboard. To claim you want to understand, while in the same breath implying that the only logical conclusions are that your mom-friends are either lying or competing with you, is disingenuous indeed.
So, since it's validation you seem to want, the real answer is what you get. In list form. When you have young kids, your typical day is: constant attention, from getting them out of bed, fed, clean, dressed; to keeping them out of harm's way; to answering their coos, cries, questions; to having two arms and carrying one kid, one set of car keys, and supplies for even the quickest trips, including the latest-to-be-declared-essential piece of molded plastic gear; to keeping them from unshelving books at the library; to enforcing rest times; to staying one step ahead of them lest they get too hungry, tired or bored, any one of which produces the kind of checkout-line screaming that gets the checkout line shaking its head.
It's needing 45 minutes to do what takes others 15.
It's constant vigilance, constant touch, constant use of your voice, constant relegation of your needs to the second tier.
It's constant scrutiny and second-guessing from family and friends, well-meaning and otherwise. It's resisting constant temptation to seek short-term relief at everyone's long-term expense.
It's doing all this while concurrently teaching virtually everything -- language, manners, safety, resourcefulness, discipline, curiosity, creativity. Empathy. Everything.
It's also a choice, yes. And a joy. But if you spent all day, every day, with this brand of joy, and then, when you got your first 10 minutes to yourself, wanted to be alone with your thoughts instead of calling a good friend, a good friend wouldn't judge you, complain about you to mutual friends, or marvel how much more productively she uses her time. Either make a sincere effort to understand or keep your snit to yourself.
Behind the sofa has become a favorite play area for the kids. I'm not sure if it's the big window to look out, the tight space so they have to climb over each other or if it's the curtains to play hide and seek from each other. Probably a combination of it all! Most of the day they play independently but always close to each other...but when they get behind the sofa they seem like they are playing together, making each other laugh and actually looking for the other. I can say "where's your bother?" or "where's your sister" and they look in the direction of the noise and head that way. I'm so glad each of them has an instant play mate, ready and willing anytime. As challenging and difficult as it is at times having multiples, I'm wouldn't have it any other way!!
I see new things everyday that the kids are learning. They are little sponges, taking in everything. Cameron seems to catch on to new things faster but Timothy is way more active...rarely sitting still for very long. The other day I was folding the kids laundry and blankets. Cameron crawled over and pulled her blanket out of the basket and laid right down on as if she were going to sleep. I was amazed that she could associate the blanket with bedtime while the blanket was out of her crib. It seems like a little thing but put it all together with every little new thing I see them do...it's just amazing!
As I mentioned before, we got the kid these little cars for their birthday and they love them. (we actually got them the day after Thanksgiving as a door buster for half price!) Their feet don't quite touch the ground yet so it's full time job pushing them around! But they absolutely love it!! They laugh the whole time and Cameron even make the "vroom, vroom" noise. Even when they aren't being pushed, they just sit on them or Timo will use it as a walking toy and push it all around. And, even more, the seats lift up and there is room to put things...anything the kids can find to cram in there. Their new fun thing to do is put objects in and out of containers, any container. Sometimes I find all sorts of toys stuck under their seats.
Here they are opening their birthday cards and gifts, happy to be eye level with mommy and daddy!
A week before the kids birthday we had their 1 year pictures made. I called up the photographer who did our wedding and asked if she photographed children...only once before but she was up for the challenge! I love her work which is made up mostly of just candid shots. She tells you to be natural, start talking and she starts clicking. We ended up with almost 600 photos to sort through!!
