Now, in a convenient twin pack!

I wish I were a better writer as I've been trying to write this post a few times already and don't know where to begin. I just feel so lucky and blessed to be the mother of these two beautiful, hilarious and mysterious people. A lot seems to have happened in this past week - nothing really earth shattering - but a lot of little things. So, here's a quick dump of what's been rattling around in my brain.

Rolling and Learning
For the past month, I've been waking up at night worried because neither Kate nor Maya were rolling from their stomach to their backs. I kept reading the part in my American Academy of Pediatrics book that says to notify your doctor if your baby hasn't rolled over by 5 months of age - and my babies were 7.5 months (well, six months adjusted) and still not rolling over. I had actually mentioned this to my pediatricians several times and they kept telling me not to worry because Kate and Maya were meeting every other milestone and that it wasn't a big deal. But, me being me, I couldn't let it go and did fret a lot over it.

Finally, Josh had enough of me worrying and talking about how every other baby their age was rolling over, and decided to just teach Kate how to roll over. After just a few times showing her how to tuck her arm and tilt her head, she got it and started rolling over on her own. For some reason, it just never occurred to me that I could teach Kate to roll over, I just assumed she'd figure it out on her own. I've since taught them both to clap two blocks together and also taught Maya to roll over (yay!). And, not only are they rolling over, but they do it "on command" - when I say "tuck and roll" they will tuck their arms under, roll onto their backs and then break into some pretty huge grins because they are so proud of themselves! So, not only are they finally rolling over, but I guess this is first indication that they actually understand some of what we are saying.

Da Da
In honor of Father's Day, Maya yesterday looked up at Josh from her blocks and clearly said "da da". Now, I can't be sure this is her first word, but it was very distinct and clearly directed at Josh. She hasn't repeated it, but still...

Eating
I must be part Italian mother because it makes me so happy to see my babies learning to eat and enjoying food. Sometimes when they're fussy we'll all hang out in the living room and eat puffs or Cheerios together. I love these times - they are so cute chewing their puffs with such great concentration and I love that we can share some of the same food now.

Actually, today I was eating a piece of banana cream pie (sigh, I'm never going to lose those 10 pounds with banana cream pie around) while Maya and Kate were eating their puffs. Maya was very satisfied with her puffs until she spied my pie and then refused to eat the puffs and instead tried her best to reach my pie. Luckily she's not very fast or wily yet so I managed to fend her off since she's still a little young for banana cream pie.

Swan Dive
In not so great news, Kate had the unfortunate experience of swan diving off of one of our dining room chairs onto our hard laminate floor. Our friend who was holding Kate while she danced and jumped on the chair lost his grip on her and she took a tumble right onto her forehead (it's okay Mark, we forgive you!). Luckily he managed to catch her a little bit and slow her fall, so she didn't whack her head too badly. She's fine (she doesn't even have a bump on her head), but my nerves are still jangled from the site of my baby lying screaming on the floor after swan diving from a chair. I think I now have the "Head Injury" section of my trusty American Academy of Pediatrics book memorized.

And
Happy Father's Day to the two best dads in the world - Josh and my dad! Kate, Maya and I are so lucky to have you both in our lives.

And, here's another cute one of Kate. This is my favorite outfit for her these days. And, look at her shining, happy eyes - this is the best reason I can think of to get out of bed in the morning.