Swing set

When we moved in (just a little over a month ago), I remember saying that it was nice that the previous owners left the swing set, but that it was too big for the girls and maybe we would be able to use it next summer.  I feel like I blinked and all of the sudden they are climbing up the ladder and going down the slide on their own.  How did this happen?

 



Harper's a little more tentative about the slide than Tannah.  She prefers to turn around and go down on her belly.

Tannah's a little daredevil.  She climbs right up the stairs and flies down the slide giggling the whole way.

 



 Our neighbors have rocks in their landscaping, and the girls love to go to their yard to play with the rocks.  I'm not really sure how Harper ended up on Tannah's lap.

Back Yard Fun

When we moved into our house the (somewhat high) deck didn't have any rails on it.  This made us very nervous, so the weekend we moved in my dad and Wei-Yand put up rails.  We waited about a month and then stained the whole deck.

Pre-deck staining.

Hi Mom!



 

Tannah using the rails



 

 

 

The finished deck.

We had been playing with thier bikes, and Tannah did not want me to take off her helmet.

Utensils

We used to rely on daycare to guide us as to when we should introduce new things with the girls.  Since they're home with Wei-Yand now, we've kind of been winging it.  I decided it was time for the girls to start trying to use spoons, so we started with applesauce.  I was pretty impressed with how well they did.



Shortly thereafter, I decided to try plates and forks.  They really like using forks and are pretty good at it, but they often end up picking up their plates and dumping it on their trays.

Pigtails!

Although the girls were born with quite a bit of hair, it has been pretty slow to grow.  It's finally started to take off, and true to form, the girls' hair is growing in quite differently. 

Harper's hair is shorter in front and long in the back.  It's kind of curly as well.  It's nice because it doesn't get in her eyes.

Tannah's hair is long on top and short in the back.  I think she must still rub her head while she sleeps.  Her hair is so long in front that it's been getting in her eyes.  I bought the girls some adorable clips, but they keep them in for about three minutes before tearing them out and smiling at me while they drop them on the floor. 

Today I decided to take a new approach, and Tannah ended up rocking the Pebbles Flinstone look.  It kept the hair out of her eyes, and she looked pretty adorable.  In the pictures below, she selected the headband.



Harper ripped her top pony out pretty much as soon as I put it in, but her hair is long enough for pigtails!  Eeep!  They were so cute, she may be in pigtails until she graduates from high school:)

Walking Backwards

The girls are learning all sorts of new skills including walking backwards and spinning in circles until they get dizzy and fall down.  They often get really interested in the video camera when I pull it out, but I managed to get a short video.

Sixteen Months!

Time keeps marching along very quickly, and these girls just keep growing and growing.  They also keep exploring, learning, and getting into everything.  They crack me up every day, but they absolutely will not sit still for a nice picture.

No I will not stand nicely next to my sister



This is what I got when I asked Harper to give Tannah a hug.

Baby gymnastics - I just realized that this should probably be labeled "Toddler gymnastics" - how is it possible that they are toddlers?

At 16 months:

• The girls can run, walk backwards, and think it's hilarious to spin in circles until they're so dizzy that they fall down.
• They love their purse, grocery bag, bracelets, and pretty much anything they can wear on their arm/shoulder.
• They wave and blow kisses at every person and car they see from a distance, but they get shy when confronted with new people up close.
• They love to point to dogs and birds and loudly proclaim, "da".  However, they flip out if a dog's nose or tongue touches them.
• Speaking of flipping out, they both know how to throw a major tantrum complete with giant tears running down their cute little cheeks.  I've never seen children who can start to cry so quickly.
• They love macaroni and cheese, quesadillas, ravioli, and pretty much all fruit.
• They drink about three sippy cups of milk per day.
• They wear size 12-18 month or 18 month clothes, size 4 diapers, and size 4 shoes.
• They love to "help".  They like to throw their diapers away, and we've been working with them to pick up their books and blocks.
• They love to dump their mega blocks on the floor.
• They love to stand on their chairs and look out the window.
• They give fantastic hugs and are getting better at closing their mouths for kisses.
• They sleep from around 8 or 8:30 until 8 am.  They sometimes still wake up once at night, but they go back to sleep on their own pretty quickly.

These two are so much fun.  Getting hugs from them is one of the most amazing things ever.  They wrap their little arms around my neck and squeeze.  I love it and them so much!

Water Babies

It has been such a hot summer, so the girls have gone in their pool on several occasions.  They often like to just stand on the outside and splash their hands in the water.  We had friends from Minnesota visiting us today, and the girls were showing off for Aunt Susan.  Tannah was dumping water on herself and on Harper.  They were both splashing and giggling and generally having a blast.

Beach Babies

I remember posting last year about how I was so excited to take the girls to Lake Michigan, and when we did they weren't big fans.  I am very happy to report that this summer, these girls love the beach.  They love playing in the sand and splashing in the water.  On our first trip, the water was quite warm (for anyone who didn't grow up swimming in Lake Michigan, warm is a relative term).  It was still on the chilly side, but the girls had a blast playing in the water with us.