To get Tommy out of the bedroom to play in the playroom, he asked him to bring the little toy duck into the hallway. Tommy took the duck, dropped it in the hallway, came back into the bedroom and shut the door.

Later today... G pretended the toy phone was ringing. He told Tommy to pick it up. I know you can see this coming but the funny part is, he grunted as he picked up what was suddenly the heaviest phone in the world, and grunted as he put it back down again. Even Kaden laughed.

While we were grocery shopping, Tommy tapped his lips and said "Hmmm..." (He mimics when Mama is thinking.) So almost every decision we made to put something in the cart, Tommy did "thinking". Kaden just wanted out and to walk around. Nah, I don't think so!

They got their first H1N1 shots yesterday where we found out they have to have it done again in three weeks. Blah. They just whimpered and then were fine, and they played in the mud when they got home.

Both of them have taken to clearing out the bottom bookshelf of their board books and sitting in there like a little reading nook. Also, we have one picture lower than the others on the shelf and they point it out every day. It's the picture of Mommy, Daddy, and Gick. (Our friend Nick.) LOL!

They make me laugh every day.

People have been asking how the kids are lately and I just say, GREAT! They're happy and healthy little boys. They're also coming up on new milestones, like, a new set of teeth coming in, and they have new colouring books. They colour as much as they try to eat now! LOL!

Kaden is teething again. He sticks his whole hand in his mouth and drools like crazy. One day while I was reading a story to them, I saw K softly patting Tommy's head. I thought, "Aw, that's nice." When the story was done and they walked away, I saw that half of Tommy's head was soaked with Kaden's spit. He was wiping his hand on his brother's soft hair. How touching.

I mentioned in the last post that Kaden was banging his head when he got frustrated. Not any more, really. I haven't seen him do it in a while. I think by acknowledging his anger and helping him focus on me instead of the floor, helped.

Tommy is now reaching a frustrating stage. He's bulding block towers and he gets mad when they fall. If they don't fall he tries to pick up the tower and carry it around and he gets MAD when they tumble. He also got mad when the tupperware lid that stuck to his foot (and make clicky sounds when he walked) fell off repeatedly. No head banging, thankfully.

They are both getting very good at putting the right shapes in the right holes in the sorters we have, and they're using the puzzle properly and pretty regularly. Their numbers are getting better, and there are about 3-5 letters they recognize (from a fridge game I bought).

October was busy!! We had Thanksgiving at Nanny and Papa's, then Deeme (Regina) from the east coast came to visit with her husband Kevin, (Mommy and Daddy had Oktoberfest), and then Halloween! Both boys were very excited about the BU-NINS! They helped scoop out the guts before Mommy and Papa cleaned up and carved the faces.

They said "Treat!" at most of the six houses we visited. They both tried to dart away from us, Tommy more than K and we ended up carrying them for the last bit. Their devil costumes fit perfectly this year, and the little pumpkin bags were very cute even if they didn't really hang onto them. Only one decoration scared Tommy a little bit, but he still got his candy! Both of them loved seeing the big kids come to the door after we got home and tried to say Happy Halloween just like we did, and it came out "WEEN!"

All of the pictures from October are here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/tkitaliano/sets/72157622584549699/

Videos taken recently are here: http://www.youtube.com/kadenandthomas

It's Friday, you have time to kill, right? Check it out and even though I know I'm forgetting to mention a ton of cute little things, that is the jist of were we're at right now.

Not sure where to start or end this update. It all happens so fast!

Both boys are taking interest in numbers and are finding all of the books with counting. Tommy points to the book and repeats "three, four", but Kaden can say the names of more numbers up to ten. I think K also understands the difference between one object and two. (Need more proof...) We all like counting to five on Mama's fingers and then giving a High Five!

They are also both paying more attention to colours. The toys that say the names of colours are becoming favourites again. Picking up other objects and saying what colour they are isn't quite there yet, but they're really trying!

Both boys are going up and DOWN the three stairs from thebedroom area to the playroom, Tommy is much more careful and will repeat "Hang on" just like Mama says. Half the time K is cautious, the other half he tumbles or Mama might catch him.

Kaden's had a fe temper tantrums, usually when a toy doesn't do what he wants and he gets frustrated. The worst part is that he bangs his face/head on the floor. ACK! I know that he'll stop when it hurts and it looks worse than it it but sheesh! I then hold him and ask him if he's angry, what he's angry at, and if he's okay now. He goes back to playing. Mama has another grey hair somewhere. LOL!

There is a potty in the bathroom with a toilet lock and cabinet locks. They like it and it makes a flushy sound. They know it's for poo poo and pee pee. I jsut don't want their first time in there to be when they actually have something to DO and they get distracted by everything in there.

Cousins Duncan and Maia gave them their old swingset this weekend, along with a desk they might get when they're older and a big loud fire truck! It was nice catching up with Teresa again, and their kids were great with our little ones.

What else is milestone-y or noteworthy? There are so many little amusing things I could tell you about. Tommy moves his hand and mimics me when I say "Come here." Kaden is tyring to put wodden pieces in the puzzle and gets one every now and then. They both lift a small basketball and put it in the (lowered) basket, and they both throw down the plush football and yell TOUCHDOWN!

We took them to Wings of Paradise, a butterfly conservatory. Let me just point out that Mam has an irrational fear of birds being inside, and upon discovering hte birds in there as well I think I did pretty well. Video is coming soon, and pictures are here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/tkitaliano/

Then we went to Chuck E. Cheese for lunch. Butterflies promptly forgotten. LOL!

Overall they're becoming more aware of eachother and excited to see each other when playing. They're starting to interact, find each other's ears, and steal toys from their brother. A lot. Meltdowns ensue. LOL! But I think they both know their own names and the difference between themself and their brother.

Learn. To. Climb.

They can climb up onto the "wooden" furniture, the lower sitting setee and chair from Peir 1. Now the tough part will be teaching them that chairs and couches are for SITTING. Yes, it's boring just sitting with Mama, now go play. LOL! This means our previous barriers have to change, you have to adapt quickly and childproofing increases of course. We had this setee, chair and side table blocking the front door, bathroom and stair area.

Today, Tommy LIFTED the table. Friggin' Hercules I tell you.

He's also moving the rocking chair around and generally rearranging our furniture. They're not even 15 months yet!

Tommy also knows when he's doing poo-poo, makes the sign for us, then walks over to where the diapers are, SAYS diaper... Although K isn't there yet, it's making us wonder when potty training will start. They have to be able to do a few more things like pull down their pants and such, but sheesh, I think the kids have aged 6 months in two days!

They can see where we've stored a few sweaters and hats for the fall and they want to play with the hats. K put it on by himself last night. Yay! ...Before he pulled out a yarn from the pom-pom and tried to eat it. HA!

We played outside with them yesterday as well, with the new turtle sprinkler. Due to this new climbing thing, they both climb up onto the deck and want to explore that now, too. Block the BBQ, watch the edges, away from spider webs with spiders in them...

They have also taken to trying to squeeeeze into small spaces. Last night K got his head stuck between the crib and the wall, today Tommy got stuck between Daddy's chair and the wall. It's as if they think they're cats or something!

Both of them put their toys away at the end of the day, books in the book bin, toys in the toy bins. They get distracted a lot, but they do a really good job, eventually.

They can hum, and they've started using a few different notes when they do. Kaden will repeat the last word you've said to the best of his ability, which I think is making Daddy a little nutty so he ends what he says with "coconut" now.

It's much more fun, these days. :)

New videos!
http://www.youtube.com/kadenandthomas

The Developmental People came on Friday for the 1 year screening. The tests are supposed to take an hour but the worker was done in 20 minutes as the boys did everything she needed to see very quickly. The boys, who seem to like being observed, were in cute mode and where very active and charming and talkative. The worker said they are doing many things up to an 18 month level and that she had never heard this much vocabulary out of 13 month olds before. They only scored "Normal or average" on the crayon test. Both boys were able to colour on paper, but then would try to eat the crayons right after. Speaking of paper, the lady found it hilarious that both boys would crawl up to her binder say "paper" and then try to tear out her paper and eat it. She was more impressed by how clearly they said "paper".

They are coming back at 18 months for one more observation, but she assured us they are "doing better then great".

Marcy and I are very proud as things seem to be going great. This is partly due to the fact that we have limited the amount of TV the boys watch and give then a large amount of floor time and don't really use the playpens (it is hard to put two kids in a playpen). Plus we have always made a point to constantly talk the kids and/or use sign language. As a result our boys are communicating above their age level and aren't as frustrated as some babies are at this age.

KNOCK ON WOOD....

G

Got some updates and the kids are napping...

The musical mobiles came down this week. We kept them up longer than we should have because the kids loved them so much, but they can reach them now and yank on them so they're in the closet.

We went to the POMBA picnic on Sunday at Kiwanis Park, which we'd never been to before. What a nice park! We're definitely going to take them back. It was a very nice event and we got to briefly talk to other twin parents, a couple with 9mo olds who had questions for us that we were happy to answer. :) Yes, it gets easier when they can walk!! The boys had a blast, and found the wade-in pool. Daddy thought they would just walk up to their knees but no... by boys are fearless and went face-first into the water. LOL!

They've also had some new junk food lately. I swear, if Tommy could dislocate his jaw to open wider for ice cream he would. They also loved when Daddy sprayed whipped cream into their mouths last week. Yesterday they had small bits of McDonald's fries. I'm surprised they even eat their veggies anymore.

**Oh, almost forgot, I have a question for parents. I don't know if this is a sibling or twin thing but it's weird... When we use a stern voice to tell Tommy to stop doing something, Kaden gets upset and runs towards us. When we tell K to stop doing something he just laughs at us, or slowly goes back to doing whatever it was - and Tommy doesn't react at all. Anyone else have a kid that reacts to the other's reprimand?**

We went to Waterloo Park yesterday, they had way more animals to see than last time. We fit the wagon into the car and they were able to see everything. They had a much better time. Tommy's hand was sniffed by a pig when he stuck it through the gate - fearless I tell you. They saw roosters and ponies and llamas (which they called Mama) and there were tons of bunnies... we then let them walk around a big soccer field where they immediately found a cigar butt. EW! They're getting better at walking on uneven surfaces in their sandals, but they still fall quite a bit.

At home, they've been putting things in their dirty laundry bin. Things like teddy bears and (clean) diapers. Daddy usually catches them all and takes them out but this weekend he missed a diaper. Everything came out speckled with diaper bits. If you see my children this week, please excuse the fuzzy diaper bits all over them.

One more funny thing... we had left socks in their playroom after an outing. Tommy picks up one sock, brings it over to one of us and lifts up a foot. Just one sock, then we walks around happily. Kaden sees this and finds the other (which was in the toy bin today) and came to me to put it on. Again, he only wanted one sock and walked away happily. They make Mama wear hats (even Daddy's sweaty workout hat) - and no, I can't take the hats off or Tommy will bring it back to put it on my head. Yesterday they wanted their sweatshirts on. G found Tommy this morning with his shirt half off. I think they're discovering their clothes. LOL!

I hear them waking up, I should go. Talk to you soon!

On Monday we went to visit Dr. John. It was the first time we went without the kids strapped into the car seats. There were toys in the waiting room, and we let them walk in the smaller room while we waited for the doc where they gently played with the skeleton and drank their juice. Jammie weighs and measures them, and when she came in she saw Tommy take a little stumble and told us that she's seen some parents freak out over little stuff like that, and no wonder they have high-strung kids. It was a nice compliment. :)

Kaden is 20lbs10oz and Tommy is 22lbs3oz, and you can feel it. :) They are the same height at 72cm or... 2'4". He checked their eyes and peeked in their ears. Tommy didn't like him touching his tummy but didn't mind the stethescope and K was fine with it all until...

Tommy got his two shots first, one in each thigh. Kaden saw this and climbed up Daddy when Dr. John came at him. They both stayed still during the shots which was good, and Mama was armed with cookies immediately after. There was no sign of aching or fever or any discomfort after that. Yay! On our way out the doc said that all the numbers and measuring are just to make sure they don't plateau for too long, but he knew just by looking at them that they were healthy and just fine. Yay!

Yesterday we had to take them to the Audiologist, thanks to Mama's genetic loss. (I will also have a post about that in my own LJ.) Tommy went fist and since Papa came to help, both Mama and Daddy were able to go in with the kids. They tested for fluid in the ears, which neither had even with teething, and they tested for pressure and bone reaction. Then the hearing part started. It was cute, they put little earplugs in and played a sound before a bunny or elephant in shadow boxes lit up and played. Kaden looks freaked out, but did the hearing test just fine. Tommy was unfazed and also did well. It took half the time to test them because they were so cooperative and didn't pull the plugs out once. My little troopers... :)

On a negative note, Kaden chipped a tooth on the weekend chasing a ball at Grandma's house on the tile floor when he cut his lip. Not a big chip, just enough to make a sharp edge on the top tooth. They've had teeth for how many months? Yeah, sigh... boys. ;)

Other than that, a few new things are going on. Kaden knows how to "psych" now. Hands a treat over to Daddy's open mouth, closer... closer... PSYCH! Sneaks it into his own mouth. Mama tells him to give her whatever-the-hell he found on the carpet that he's trying to eat, hands it out, closer... closer... PSYCH into his mouth it quickly goes. Then he laughs hysterically and runs away. Little stinker.

If you are standing, Tommy will want "Bup." Up. He wants to know what EVERYTHING is, again and again. Luckily, he understands that Mama is tired now and he gets down after a few minutes happy with his adventure.

They had little potato cubes, Kaden says "tato", with ketchup. I think Tommy would put ketchup in a cup and drink it. LOL! It made for a very messy, but very fun dinner.

Tommy has also discovered that giving me THAT smile, signing for and saying please at the same time, will make Mama do almost anything for him. Yeah, I know... He also knows that if K is doing something bad like throwing his bottle, he becomes the good son and shows off how well he drinks his milk and puts it back on his tray.

Good son, bad son. It has begun. I try not to laugh.

They are learning more and more body parts and trying to say them. Knee, eyes, nose, ear, tummy... and penis. Yup, the plaything has been discovered during changing and bathtimes. HA! We're seeing more of their personalities come out every day, it's really wonderful and we're enjoying it so much. I'm sure there's more I'm forgetting, but I'll stop for now.

I found this old picture of my Grandfather, Thomas, who passed away when I was just past one year old, holding me.

Me... or Tommy??

http://www.flickr.com/photos/marcy_italiano/379792123/sizes/o/in/set-72157594517825920/

UN-believeable! LOL!

How did we get to the last few days of June already!?!? Gah! Time flies when you're having fun! Okay... where do I start...

Did I mention the kids have a cousin yet? No? The boys have a cousin, Louis, born on June 9th. :) Yay for playmates in the family!

We're leaving jarred baby food behind. The boys don't like being fed anymore (except for breakfast) and want control. Since using a spoon themselves is out of the question for now, we're moving to an all solid foods diet. Fruit for lunch with stuff like lunchmeat, a granola bar, or Cheerios. Dinner is usually some of what we're having. So that means we're eating even healthier! Kaden likes broccoli (brocco-li-li-li) and carrots, and Tommy is a little less enamoured by veggies.

Kaden has figured out "inward singing" and it's the funniest thing... And I beleive I've heard Tommy whistle a couple of times - not as often as his brother yet.

They're, unfortunately, outgrowing this morning nap. Right now K is out and Tommy is unhappy. The afternoon nap is longer though.

We have the little baby pool in the bakyard. They love it and the whole backyard is an adventure. They're still trying to eat stuff like dirt and rocks. I realize all kids do this but I don't have to be *happy* about it. LOL! We have to keep Tommy away from the stones under the deck and the mulch in the garden. This is why I'm not thrilled about the park yet, where the geese hang out and poop way too much. EEEEEEWWWW! Besies, they're still having a lot of trouble walking with shoes on. I'm going to try to find them some sandals this week.

If you haven't seen their website lately, you might not know about the new pictures and NINE new little videos up: http://picmusicpublishing.com/Twins/Itali-Twins.htm

I also started a family tree, not sure if you can see it publicly but I'll try the link anyway: http://www.geni.com/family-tree I'm going to keep it going for the kids, I think it'll be great for them to have.

They are learning quickly. We have to spell things like cookie and they are noticing everything. They know and can mimic a fart sound, whether you do it or say it, they'll make the sound. They know that hats-on means going outside, and Tommy will look for his hat when we want to go in the backyard. When Mama reads a book, they know they have to sit on their bum. Then they repeat, "Bum bum bum!"

The toy grabbing is increasing as they're more aware of each other. Even if we have two of something, they have to have BOTH. Of course, with twins, neither is old enough to get the concept of sharing (unlike an older sibling who might possibly) and I end up taking both items, counting ONE... TWO and handing them back one each. They like counting to two or three, so this works... for now. When we only have one of something, I just take it and they move on, outta sight, outta mind.

We're still working on the concept of GENTLE. LOL!

We're looking forward to all of the firsts this summer, and G's done work as of yesterday. Yay!! Daddy's home!!

Today we went for a walk in the neighbourhood in the new wagon! The kids took to it very well and lvoed being able to see everything. Trick will be getting them to get back in the stroller later. We took them to the park and they went on the swings for the first time. I took video, but need time to oragnize and post those properly.

When we got back we had a watermelon snack, and Tommy got impatient with the little pieces I was giving him so he reached over and grabbed a whole chunk and shoved it in his mouth. He was a watermelon fountain but he didn't choke and loved every second of it. LMAO!

Mama turned the sprinkler on and Daddy pulled the wagon up for them to feel the cold water. When they were ready, Tommy first and K was hesitant, they went right in and got soaked. K took a few unexpected shots in the face but he was cool about it.

What a fun day. My parents are picking them up tomorrow and taking them for the night, and Nanny and Papa are really looking forward to it. No doubt... there will be cookies. :)

Pictures from today:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/tkitaliano/

If you ask my kids...

The dog says Woof
The cat says Meow
And of course the cow says Moo!
The duck says Quack
The horse says Neigh
And the Walrus? Coo coo ca choo!

(Mama couldn't help it, the song is stuck in my head and walruses don't make an easy baby sound!)

Today we visited the St. Jacob's Reptile Expo: http://www.reptileexpo.co.nr/

The boys have seen pictures of lizards and snakes in various board books we have, but I don't think they knew the real things moved. LOL! When they first saw the real live lizard scurrying around, they were fascinated. Both of them were sticking their tongues out like a lizard, (Kaden stuck his tongue out to the right side only which looked funny) and I tried to get pictures of them doing it - but the flash is so distracting! They said "Oooooo..." a lot, and when we saw the snakes they tried to hiss - which sounded more like a hissing cat than a snake.

As I was hoping, there was a snake out for all kids to touch. I was assured that babies squeezing it would not be a problem, and the guy told me a kid he knows stepped on it and squashed it FLAT and it just turned around to see who was squishing it. So, Tommy was first. He stuck his hand out but didn't look at it much and wasn't sure how to react. Kaden was all over that snake. He stroked it and grabbed it and squeezed it... aw yeah.

We also saw some chameleons and huge turtles, as well as worms (Kaden tried to say worm and EW!) and mice for feeding time. But I think the kids' favourites were the many clear boxes full of scurrying lizards.

It reminded G and I of our old pet lizard, Joe, and his horrible demise. All hail the crickets. (But that's another story.)

We'll take the kids back when they're older for sure. I can forsee us getting a reptile pet at some point, which is cool by me. I'm allergic to cats and dogs and hairy things so this would work out just fine. I pulled out our big rubber snake when we got home and they definitely know the difference. The fake one went straight into their mouths. LOL!

Pictures go on to page 2: http://www.flickr.com/photos/tkitaliano/

Early this afternoon we took the kids to the Greek Festival. It was too early to see any of the dancing (before opening ceremonies) and we couldn't stay long enough which is a shame. There was a live band there playing traditional Greek music (with an odd bass player who seemed to play whatever notes he wanted). The kids clapped their hands along to the music for a little bit. I got them butterfly stickers for their hands. That's the latest thing, butterflies, and the fft fft fft sound Daddy makes when they fly around. The stickers were a hit.

Tommy really liked the huge tent, especially when it billowed and waved a bit in the wind. Mama had Moussaka, not the same as previous years and I wasn't thrilled with it. I gave them some cheese from my greek salad and Daddy gave them some bread from his gyro. I also let them have some of my dessert, diples. It's a greek pastry where they used cinnamon, not nuts: http://baking.about.com/od/greekdesserts/r/diples.htm

Mmmmmmm...

We ran into a bunch of G's past and present co-workers which was nice, one of them had a brand new baby. G told me he felt nostalgic for a minute then thought, "Yeah, I don't want to go through that again."

This makes Mama happy.

So after walking around a bit and eating, the boys were well past their naptime and getting a bit restless so we came home and they're crashed out right now.

Pictures! They look more alike with their hats on:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/tkitaliano/
LOL!

Tomorrow we're going to take them to the St. Jacobs Reptile Expo. Yay for summer and cool stuff to do!!

Yesterday I met a woman named Julie who approached me and asked me about the stoller I was using. She's 22 weeks pregnant with twins.

I'll never forget what that was like. Tommy was on my left and rolled around in there and stuck his head out my side when he stretched out. Kaden was on my right and kicked the crap outta me. I told her, "My boys will turn one tomorrow." I was fine when I said it then.

This morning, all I had to do was think it and tears came to my eyes.

They're walking, trying to talk as much as possible, becoming more aware of each other and having fun making animal sounds. Tommy makes the sickest/pukey sheep sound, almost like BLEH without the L. Kaden can (intentionally) whistle, which makes Mama jealous. They only call for Mama when I've left, and Kaden calls Daddy "Dadoo".

We took the kids for their first haircuts yesterday at "Cookie Cutters", a kids-only place where they sit in cars and trucks and can watch videos. I have pictures and video - when I have time I'll put them up. We had family portraits done right after that. Tommy seemed to kina enjoy it, Kaden didn't like the crazy lady treating him like a baby and shoving toys in his face and making stupid sounds. LOL! Some of the pictures turned out really well and again when we receive them I'll scan and post.

Last night I decorated the house with balloons and streamers, put together the little table and chairs Grandma bought them, and damn near broke my body by the time I was done. I'm so sore today... But it was worth seeing their faces this morning. They didn't quite get it, but they liked it. :)

A year ago at this exact time, Dr. Potts was fighting to get incubators in Kitchener and to find a pediatriain who would take twins. I will always appreciate what he did for us. It's been a wild year in some ways, and in other ways, the least wild year of our lives. I don't think we've ever stayed put this long before. I saw other babies at a shower last weekend, some were only weeks old, some a few months old and I thought to myself...

I liked those moments at the time, but I like now better. My kids are fun. They definitely have different personalities but they're both happy and relatively calm, and damn are they ever funny. I'm very proud of them.

Sigh... I have to to. Grandparents, Auntie, Uncle P and Uncle Dave are coming today. Uncle Mike and Aunt Mirinda couldn't come, they're due next month and can't travel. A new cousin coming soon!

The wider we cast our life-nets, the more we catch. :)

Happy Birthday Kaden. Happy Birthday Thomas. Mama and Daddy (Dadoo) love you with all our hearts.

Just a quick note...

Tommy's had a great week! It doesn't usually happen for both kids at the same time, but when one of the kids really click with things they seem to have a spurt of making leaps and bounds.

This week, Tommy used sign language to eat (http://www.signingsavvy.com/search.php?search=EAT), and to ask for more please (this motion repeated: http://www.signingsavvy.com/search.php?word=MORE&show_word=272&variation=1)!

When Daddy told him (again) that a cow says moo, he went across the room and found the block with a cow on it and mooed.

Today, Mama put a bunny toy in the shape sorter box. Normally I wait before shaking my head and telling them how silly I am, but this time Tommy made a strange face, shook his head and took it out before I said anything.

Today, Tommy, with one hand, pulled one of the gates open. We're sure it was by accident and he didn't realize what he'd done since he didn't repeat it... yet.

Synapses are firing away!

On the other hand, if you're wondering how Kaden's doing this week, please see my previous post tonight: http://tkitaliano.livejournal.com/19082.html

LOL! They're both special in their own way.

On Thursday the boys will be 11 months old. Almost a year, wow. It's been a while since I updated this journal, the main reason is because I fractured my left elbow and have been out of commission. Right now I am using voice recognition software so I can slowly speak into the computer to let you know what's going on.

On April 9 Kaden took his first three steps to daddy. I didn't see it and these things happen far too quickly to catch on camera, and of course they won't do anything camera worthy on command. About a week later, Tommy also took a few steps on his own. They go for a few days at a time without trying, and then they'll have a day where they keep trying to walk over and over. About a week ago, Kaden let go of the post at the bottom of the stairs and took about six steps until he reached a rattle and lost his balance. Tommy usually makes sure we're watchingbefore during and after his walking and standing attempts, on the other hand, Kaden goes ahead and does his own thing and doesn't seem to care if we were watching. LOL!

Both boys have four teeth on top and two on the bottom. We are trying new foods on a regular basis, and G and I have enjoyed eating dinner with them. The only totally rejected food so far is mashed potatoes. Kaden forced it down, whereas Tommy gagged and threw up. We are keeping an eye on the list of foods that babies can't have, but it's a lot of fun experimenting. They also think they are adults now and are entitled to the adult food. Grandma learned this the hard way last week when she did not share some of her cookie and the kids were very angry. Kaden stores food in his mouth like a squirrel and we have to watch how much we give him at once, not that he's choked yet but I'd rather that not happen. Tommy will take smaller bites and swallow before eating more. Both of them have started using sippy cups for the afternoon snack with 50-50 success. We found out that both of them preferred to drink from the cup without the lid. This is messier but they tend to finish it all. We also just recently switched to whole milk instead of formula 1 month early, and it's working out very well. We are also switching to Stage II foods and some toddler snacks.

Speaking of the month early, we have taken the infant car seats out and replaced them with front facing seats. They are one month young, 1 inch short, and already meet the weight requirement so we thought we'd go for it. The drive to the park was very exciting for them and I was watching him carefully from the front seat to make sure the belts held them in securely. I'll tell you about the park in a minute, but after that we took a longer drive and the kids fell asleep. It's not like being cradled in the old car seats and other than being annoyed at some head bobbing, they were able to nap. We just need to buy some strap covers to make it more comfortable for them.

Both boys have been trying to speak more. If I'm going to make it official, I believe Tommy said Mama first after I left the room and he was upset. Kaden started to say Dada first. Since then, there are a few words they say clearly and some that only we can tell what they're trying to say. Kaden says "hi" and Tommy says "hey baby", Kaden will say "bye" and wave, and both boys are working on saying "more please" which usually comes out as "mo" or "bree". (This is much better than screaming at meal time when they want more.) When they really want something they will lean forward in their high chairs and say breebreebree! We're also working on animals and colors. Within days of each other they started piling blocks and noticing the pictures on the sides. Tommy found the cow that says moo! He can now say moo. There are a set of plastic rings in the kitchen, one of which is blue and Tommy will try to say boo. When we show him colors that he can't pronounce, he's decided that they are all called "blue".

When we went to Waterloo Park we saw some animals there. Of course, the donkey said moo, the pony said moo, and the llama said moo. It was a gorgeous day on Saturday (before the big storm that brought back bad memories) and I'm glad we took advantage and went to the park. They are still too small for the swings, they can't walk or run around on the grassy areas so we were limited in what we could do. Turns out the boys loved watching the big kids playing around them.

On a bit of a serious note, for a few days when I entered the room and sat on the floor, Tommy would bite my knee pretty hard. I would say OW, no biting, and move him away from me a little bit. He would then repeatedly shove his palm into his teeth while looking at me as if to say he knows it hurts. Maybe that's his "sign" for biting. I've read that kids go through this phase and what you are supposed to do about it, but it's so unlike him and it seems so strange. Of course I can't help but think that he's angry at my withdrawal because of my arm. Mother's guilt, but logically I'm not sure if they are even emotionally able to respond to a concept like that so strongly at this age. I think it's bad timing, and there is a very good chance that Kaden will try this as well in the future. There was no biting today which is good, so we'll see how this goes.

When we open the gate to the three stairs leading to their bedroom, those kids zip across the floor and up those stairs so fast! We close the other doors and they head into their bedroom to play with the teddy bears on the floor. Tommy always tries to push open at least one other door on his way to the bedroom... he gets that from me. LOL!

Daddy he has taught them how to roar like a lion, and even though when Mama showed them a month ago how to roar and it made them cry, now they think it's hilarious. Mama should get better timing, and get with the program.

I'm sure there are other things that I should include in this update, but I'm tired and it will have to wait for another time. Talk to you soon.

This is Mama's favourite quote, and I think about it every time I change the kids now.

Daddy was changing a very squirmy kid, had to re-stick the sides of the diaper a couple of times trying to get it even and straight. He finally had to be happy with the best he could do at the time and shook his head and said:

"This is not my best work."

---

I put up a few new pictures of the first time the kids played with balloons: http://www.flickr.com/photos/tkitaliano/

And if you've forgotten what I look like, here's a most recent pic taken from this week: http://www.flickr.com/photos/marcy_italiano/sets/72157615777632906/

---

Louie will like this one...

You know how you don't realize how much you say something until your kid tries to say it? Whenever Mama comes into the room Tommy makes a very good effort to say, "Hey, baby."

It appears New Orleans doesn't leave your soul. :)

I was just talking to a twin mom (J) and dad who stopped by to pick something up for POMBA. She brought up two very distinct problems faced with twin parenting.

First:

Defensiveness. I asked her if she found that other parents of one-at-a-time kids got defensive with her. HELL YES. She's even lost some friends over it. (J has two boys of different ages, and then younger twin girls.) She said it wasn't so bad at first, but when her kids got closer to one or two years old, some of her friends got so defensive it became hard to deal with. She wasn't going around telling her friends how much HARDER it is to have twins, or that she's a better or harder working mother. She'd just tell stories just like everyone else does, like she did with her first two sons. It seriously got to the point where she couldn't talk about her kids AT ALL without some of her friends getting defensive and throwing in an "Oh yeah well..."

She's done both, one at a time and twins. She said that there are some things that are harder with singles and some are easier. Some things are harder with twins and some are easier. That's a fact, Jack. No bragging, no woe-is-me, it's just *different*. But when she got to the point when she couldn't even talk about her kids? With her *friends*? She was really sad about it and had to distance herself from them. I thought about my friends with kids and I truly hope that never happens. But I guess to an extent, that won't be up to me.

All I can do now is try not to worry about it. And we all know how good I am at not worrying about things. HA!

Twin issue number two:

Off to school. J's girls were never really separated when they were babies or toddlers. They're best friends and love spending time together. (As I watch my boys sit in each other's laps and try to play with the same plastic ring.) When her girls went to school and tried to sit side by side at a table, the teacher moved one of them to the next table. The separated twin got so upset and thought she was *being taken away* from her sister, she flipped out and BIT the teacher. She'd never done anything like that before. J was stunned and realized she'd made a BIG mistake by not separating them more as they were growing up.

So, a note to grandparents: If we split them up in the future for overnight visits it's not because we think you can't handle them both, but because the kids need to be independant of each other, as well.

AKA: Bragging time. :)

We went to the doctor's yesterday and thankfully the kids didn't need shots. Tommy is 20 lbs and Kaden is 19 lbs. They are the same height in the 50th percentile, which means considering they were preemies, they're tall. Their head circumference is exactly the same, Dr. John checked their eyes, ears, hips and tummy, all good. The kids were great, happy and calm throughout the visit. On our way out G realized that some cooky lady that was in the waiting room when we got there, left with his leather jacket instead of her own. She's going to bring it back today and we'll pick it up. Daddy was not pleased but luckily, his keys and wallet were in his pants pockets.

The Infant Developmental Program was here today, again because they're preemies the kids are being screened to make sure they're not falling behind (and if so to take measures to help them). The lady and her job-shadowing daughter (who was also very nice) found quite the opposite. Our kids aren't lagging.

What surprised ME was that Tommy waved at them when they came in! He's never waved before. I mean, he's never done that motion, even if it wasn't an intentional wave he still did it so that was cool.

They bring a chart for 8 month olds when the kids are 9 months because of their "corrected age" - a term that drives Daddy nuts. Within five minutes she was checking everything off of the 8 month list. They can crawl, they can sit up, they vocalize and make double syllable sounds and mimic sounds Mommy and Daddy make, they can move an object from one hand to the other, they look towards the source of a sound even if it's not visible, and they react to their image (as well as Mama's) in the mirror... things they've been able to do for a while now. She gave them a little snack and Tommy was able to pincer-grasp and put it in his mouth, Kaden had a harder time but also managed to eat it. A few minutes later she thought Tommy still had the snack in his mouth, I told her it was his tooth/fang. No, she said it was the food kina hanging down on the one side. I opened Tommy's mouth, no, it's his tooth! Well, wasn't she surprised to see the kids have fangs! LMAO!!

They are both able to pull themselves to standing and they stand flat-footed. I was also surprised that when she touched their backs with one finger and they could stand on their own for a few seconds! They can bang two objects together and shake things on command, and understand "no" and "stop" even if they don't always stop what they're doing. LOL! They can't really clap their hands, they don't blow a kiss (and to be honest I haven't really shown them that very much which is my fault), and generally they don't wave hello or goodbye. I was a little surprised when they both voluntarily gave a high five! I've seen them both kina do it, but not on command. Maybe they just liked this woman. HA! When I saw the boys reach for hair and faces I said "gentle" and they stopped and looked at me, and then proceeded to touch with open hands - which really impressed her. (Hell, I was thrilled they got it today, soon to be forgotten again.) Tommy did a little cruising along the coffee table to reach for a toy she kept moving away from him, and she said he'd be walking VERY soon. I also told her he could climb stairs which were blocked by the coffee table today. They're both beyond the 90th percentile, WELL beyond 8 months. Some things were beyond 9 months...

The three of us watched Tommy and Kaden play for a while and they grabbed/fought over their puzzle box. Both of them put objects IN the box, and I knew they would also try to put lid ON the box as well. She watched them patiently trying over and over and couldn't believe it. Then they successfully put pieces through the holes in the sides of the box and she said that was very advanced for their age. *beaming proud mama*

Their motor skills are extremely good, they're strong, and they're happy and doing well. She complimented us on how well they're doing and to keep up the good work. They'll be back in July to do the "corrected 12 month" list which includes more detailed speech testing.

I hear one of them now, no, both of them... I have to go!