Holidaze

The New Year is closing in fast and the Wondertwins are getting their share of Holiday fun.
We've gone to a Christmas Ballet, the Burbank Chorale, endlessly watched and danced to The Nutcracker Ballet, saw Santa several places (they love to see him and will get close, but not sit on his lap), had cookies with Santa and the Mother of Twins Club, made tons of Christmas artwork, went to their first swim lesson, went to view Christmas lights with friends, helped Mom make cookies, and helped Paco make a festive Holiday feast.
I'm exhausted just writing this!
Just in the last month Audrey and Ben have made a big jump in their words and interaction. It's really cute watching them playing and laughing together and (YES!) sharing their toys.
Audrey is so attracted to anything musical. She sings, dances, plays drums and the piano whenever she can. Her repertoire of songs include the holiday favorites, Santa Claus is Coming to Town, Frost the Snowman and Jingle Bells along with the standards, A,B,C's, Ring Around the Rosey and Itsy Bitsy Spider.
Ben is still infatuated with Superman and loves anything art related; drawing, sculpting and building to his heart content. He'll use anything as his paintbrush or pencil including milk from his sippy cup - much to his parents dismay.
In 2010 we are considering putting them into daycare for the first time where I'm sure they will love interacting with the other kids and exploring new places.
The next year is sure to hold many other fun events for Our Wondertwins and we are looking forward to them all!

Wondertwins are 2!

As noted before - in the blink of an eye -
Audrey and Ben are 2 years old!
We celebrated their day at the park above our home and the Grandparents once again flew out for the occasion. The party had an Elmo/Cars theme. Up until that day those two words were the first out of their mouth in the morning and the last before bed.
And just when we thought they would never get them out of their vocabulary and we would go mad watching Elmo and Cars - Ben throws us a curve ball. His new obsessions are Superman and Tinkerbell. It happened almost overnight and I sense a trend emerging.
"S!", "Superman FYYE" , " Superman Fye in Sky" "TinkerBewl" "Tinkerbewl Fyye" Ben repeats over and over until we validate him.
Audrey is just happy to sing songs and doesn't concern herself with the bantering of the same words over and over. That's Ben's realm!
We went for their 2 year checkup this week and both are still on a nice track of growth. Audrey is 1/2 inch taller and 5/10ths pound heavier than Ben, but I think he's gaining as we speak.
They each got two shots this time around - Hepatitis booster and the flu shot - Ben hardly flinched for both shots, completely shocking the nurse who is sadly the bearer of pain to unsuspecting children. He just gave her a look like: "what the hell?" I guess he's taking some lessons from superman?!
Audrey:
Height 34.25 in.
Weight 25.6 lbs.
Ben:
Height 33.75 in.
Weight 25.1 lbs.
Fall has peeked into our world this week with a cold spell and yes - actually rain! Both are welcome as far as I'm concerned as it helps prepare one for the holiday seasons...
And maybe the next obsession? Santa!
Wondertwin latest pics

Summertime

Summertime is in full swing and with it comes the traditional sand and sugar.
The months leading into summer brought out the Grandparents. Grandma C for Easter, Grandma H for Mother's Day and Paco for the Fourth of July.
During Paco's visit on the 4th of July and we the spent a day at the beach, followed by some partaking of ice cream. Both of which the twins love. (what a surprise!)
Here are some clips of them enjoying the perks of summer.
The first is us at the beach. It was our second trip this year and they both love the sand. Audrey in particular loves the water - and it was quite cold to boot - but she didn't care. Ben is more content playing in the sand and checking out the people - mostly girls!



The next is Audrey doing an ice cream dance. She couldn't stop dancing over the sweet stuff!
Ben enjoyed it as well, but took the more demure route and just sat with me and ate - so Audrey got the spotlight this time.



Our May and June and the start of July was pretty mild here until this past week when the heat monster finally reared it's head and brought the 100 degree weather. Our neighbors are away and asked us to take care of their pool - so we are taking advantage of that perk and dunking in each day to cool off.
Both Audrey and Ben are doing great with their letters and numbers. Audrey particularly likes singing the alphabet song and counting to 10. For a while there she was skipping number 7 (still don't know why?) but has finally included it in her repertoire. Ben enjoys pointing out letters on books and shirts and anything in his eyesight. He'll keep repeating the letter until you acknowledge him.
We will be traveling back east the end of August and can't wait to see family and friends again and show how much the babies have changed into little people.
In the meantime we are enjoying our summer as much as possible - goodness knows, in the blink of an eye summer will be gone and they will be 2!
click here for WonderTwins April-June Pics

Happy Spring!

Spring has sprung in the southland. We are enjoying some warm weather and the longer days are giving us just a little more daylight to enjoy it.

The wondertwins are a year and a half old. We went for their 18 month checkup this week. As in the past, they are both on schedule and developing right on track.
Audrey is in the 70th percentile for her height and 20th for weight - still long and lean. And Ben is keeping up by being right in the middle - 50th percentile for height and 10th percentile for weight.
Audrey
height: 32.5 in.
weight: 22.4 lbs.
Ben
height: 32.25 in.
weight: 22.3 lbs.
Audrey is spewing out new words by the minute. She still loves to jabber away and repeat any words - both Dave and I are realizing the need to edit ourselves and be aware of what we say!
Ben still loves to laugh out loud and test the boundaries as well as his Mom and Dad's patience. Where Audrey excels in vocabulary, Ben excels in engineering. Stacking blocks and making bubbles are two skills he's mastered quickly.
As Spring spreads it's wings we are looking forward to watching the next milestones evolve.
click here for latest Wondertwin pics

Mountain of Cute

Audrey & Ben are on the verge of turning 17 months old.
They have hit so many milestones over the last 17 months it makes my head spin. They are now looking and acting like little people. Gone are the baby days. Dave was mentioning how he feels nostalgic when he sees people with infant babies. Those baby months go by so quickly. You wake up one day and they seem to have morphed into these little people overnight. They are a mountain of cuteness. Ben laughing uncontrollably over the simplest gesture that you may do, Audrey repeating every word you say in one form or another in her cute little toddler voice. Audrey is talking up a storm. One of Ben's favorite things to do is dance. So I'm posting some of these moments for all to witness.
The first is Audrey on a typical day... babbling away. She has full on conversations with herself and absolutely loves saying "Hi Paco!" It must tickle her mouth as she gets into a groove and doesn't stop...



This next one is Ben wearing his favorite shirt. If you even mention spiderman while he's wearing the shirt he stops what he's doing and points to it. On this occasion he spontaneously started dancing - something he enjoys doing - and does well I may add!
He still isn't pronouncing his words very well, but fully understands what you are saying to him. He likes getting into trouble by playing with the blinds and pulling open drawers. If you listen closely in this clip you can hear the endless babbling of Audrey in the background...



They have mastered walking, beginning to run and climbing whatever they can get their little legs on. At night all we have to say is "ready for bed?" and they run like rabbits to the stairs, climb them and play happily in their cribs until they fall asleep. Lucky us. I wonder how long that will last and they begin to rebel? Don't get me wrong, there are times when the whining is deafening and turning on Elmo seems the only respite. But despite the occasional outbursts, they remain a mountain of cute.

15 month checkup

I seriously can't believe it is the end of January! And this month has 31 days!!! This new year is certainly starting off in warp speed...
Audrey and Ben went for their 15 month checkup yesterday. Everything checked out great.
Both got yet another heartbreaking round of immunizations. They are such troopers - it breaks your heart as you witness them go from smiling babies to all out whaling in pain from the shots. Three this time - one in each leg and one in the arm.
Audrey is in the 80th percentile for height and 20 percentile for weight. Tall and lean.
Ben, not to be under done, caught up in height with Audrey and came in at the exact same height and only a tenth of an ounce bigger. He's tall and lean as well - (in the 60th percentile for height and 10th for weight.)
Audrey: 31 1/2 in
21.10 lbs
Ben: 31 1/2 in
21.11 lbs
The doctor was impressed with both their social skills and their word knowledge.
Dave and I are so happy and relieved that maybe we are actually doing something right!! :)

The doctors and nurses were all curious about the Baby can read books and flashcards that we brought to the checkup. They hovered around and "oohed" and "awed" at the babies attentiveness with the cards. It's one of the only things (besides Elmo) that keeps their attention for any length of time. And with the doctors visit running at least an hour and a half, anything that works to keep them calm is used!
Audrey is reading about five or so words now. (words without pictures!) Eyes, baby, tongue, tiger and a couple others I can't remember... (I love the way she says "baby") And she and Ben know a ton of words with pictures. So they are both on the right track as far as language skills go. Audrey has a slight upper hand as she can pronounce the words better. Clock (cwock), Owl (Ow) and Baby (Beyyybeee) are Audrey's favorite to say these days. Ben is mostly grunting and making rough sounds; finishing his sounds with an up tone as if he's constantly asking a question of you!
Both are beyond cute.
We don't go back to the doctors again until April when they get yet another round of shots. Maybe they both will be reading books by then?!

A New Year begins...

In a few days it will be 2009. Things are racing by at lightning speed and before we know it the twins will be graduating from college and starting a career of their own! (head spinning)
Thinking that way seems to put everything in perspective. It's very easy these days to get caught up in the minutia and loose track of months, let alone days! So making a conscious effort to enjoy every moment is a MUST as they change by the minute. It certainly is a joy to watch each discovery through their eyes. And I am already saddened as they let go of their baby traits and become little people.

Our Holidays were filled with visiting family and friends. Grandma H was here for Thanksgiving and we had a small gathering with the Lusk family. (small compared to our pre-twin standards of thanksgiving dinners!) Paco and Grandma C visited for the Christmas season and Audrey & Ben got to see their cousin David S as well. We visited Santa, Leila's family and Leanne's Family and enjoyed great holiday food and song. The twins did amazing throughout all the traveling and crowds of googling eyes.

Audrey's newest words are "Wow" and "Wheeeee!" Wheeeee! is used whenever she is having fun, whether it be her just spinning around in a circle or us swinging her in the swings. She just loves the Christmas tree. She says "Wow!" every morning upon seeing it. She also says "baa baa!" when she sees it as Aunt Annie gave her a sheep ornament that sings "baa baa..." to the "We wish you a merry Christmas" tune. It's become her favorite next to Elmo. I'm not looking forward to packing up the decorations. I will be heart broken when she discovers the tree gone.
Ben is taking the holidays in stride. He is very even tempered with just about everything. No real highs or lows - unless he's hungry or tired (who isn't cranky then?!) He just enjoys observing people and things and eating! His newest "thing" is climbing on everything. And he's pretty darn good at it, to his father's dismay. Both are still infatuated with books and have a library that would make the most noted scholar envious. :)

In a few days we'll be on our own again and looking forward to the discoveries of 2009...

check out these links for our past two months in pictures...
November pics
December pics

Giving Thanks

Turkey Day is upon us once again. We certainly have plenty to be thankful for this year.
The twins are healthy and generally happy - (when their teeth aren't giving them issues!) And although times are certainly tough for the world in general, we are keeping our head above the fray and are thankful for all our blessings.
Last year at this time we were getting less than a few hours of sleep at a time. So I am certainly thankful for a full nights rest.
If you ask Dave, he will additionally be thankful for a new and improved government with a conscience awaiting us in the new year!
Despite my want to update this blog more often to keep up with our daily adventures, life just won't stand still long enough for me to do it. So once a month will have to suffice until I thankfully get some more free time. ha.
But aside all that, Ben and Audrey have not disappointed and both have had several new milestones this past month.
As I predicted in my last post, both are walking. Sort of... Ben has had a solid grasp of the concept for several weeks now. He can actually stop, start and travel fairly long distances at a good clip, barring any obstacles under foot. He still needs help pulling himself up to a standing position, though. Audrey took her first steps just this past week and is slowly learning how to put one foot in front of the other. But even given her inability to walk very far, she can easily stand up on her own. Her thigh muscles must be so strong as she gets a kick out of doing squats. It makes her smile and giggle.
Both love books, music and Elmo.
Ben is now playing peek a boo and clapping, something that Audrey has been doing for months now.
Ben has almost all his teeth and Audrey is just barely getting started.
Bottom line is, although they are brother and sister twins, they are far from similar.
We continue to be entertained by double the fun and worn down by double the need for attention. But we wouldn't want it any other way, thankfully.
Here's pics from our October

Wondertwins are One!

Well a whole year has passed and the Wondertwins have turned One!
It's been a very exciting year for all of us to say the least. Watching them grow, discover and amuse is a continuous reminder of just how blessed we really are.
Their one year check up went well. Audrey continues to have a height advantage while Ben is packing in the pounds.

Audrey: 29 1/2 in. 20lbs. 2oz.
Ben: 29 in. 21 lbs.
The doctor was very impressed on their progress and mentioned that their pointing at objects is a major milestone in their development. Ben is obsessed with pointing at things he wants while Audrey can point - but she would rather say the words (or what sounds like words) than physically have to point for what she wants. She is also signing her first words: milk and ball.
Ben is still not walking but we are convinced he can and will just as soon as he gets over his fear of standing on his own.
Audrey still has a ways to go before she'll walk, but she's getting stronger day by day and I'm starting to believe she'll walk before Ben if she continues progressing at the rate she's going. Both love to walk while pushing their little toys around so maybe they'll both be walking by Thanksgiving?!
As we prepare for the Holiday season we are looking forward to the next milestones and enjoying each new discovery along with them.
Here's some links to our past month's events:

September Wondertwin pics

1st Birthday pics

Not so lazy days of summer

Summer is gone and Fall is slowly gaining ground on us. I do love this time of year when the light at the end of the day is a little less harsh and the evenings are much cooler in anticipation of the next season.

We had a whirlwind summer with visiting family and family visits.
It started off with Grandma C. visiting once again in June, a visit from Brother Dan & the clan in July, and ended with our trip back East in August for the twins' christening and meeting just about everyone else in the family.
Needless to say we're all tired and have barely any time to catch our breath before the next big event: Their 1st birthday!!!
The questions are repeated over and over through out the ages...
Can you believe it - a year has passed!!? Where does the time go!!!?
The last few months Ben & Audrey have grown and developed in leaps and bounds. Ben is cruising around now and is hours away from taking his first official step. Audrey and Ben both like to pull themselves up and stand by the coffee table. Both are proficient at crawling (Ben is finally using his knees!) and both are jabberhaulics. Saying words like "cat" and "ball", mama"" and "dada" and of course "no!"
They are saying much more than that, as both can have entire conversations with themselves, but it's hard to decipher their language at this point! :P
Both are doing well with eating solids, although Ben with his eight teeth has double the advantage over Audrey with half as many teeth. Plus he definitely has more of an appetite when it comes to toast and crackers!
We're looking forward to their 1st birthday as all the grandparents will be back to celebrate, just as they did for their birth.
Then it's on to the next season and the next year and more exciting adventures!
Click here for wondertwin pics in July
Cick here for wondertwin pics in August