An update, finally

I have been a very negligent mother and have not taken any pics of the kids recently, but I'll try to update anyway.

Natalie rarely crawls anymore. I feel like John started walking and a week later he was running around. Natalie is much more tentative. She finds her balance very easily, but really concentrates once she gets moving. You can tell she is so proud of herself whenever she gets where she is going though. She always has a huge smile on her face and when she gets within a few inches of her goal she throws herself toward it. She has started wearing her hair in a little ponytail on the top of her head because her bangs are always in her eyes and I cannot make myself cut them. Now that her balance is better she likes to carry things around with her as she walks around the room. Usually it's a little book, but sometimes it is something WAY too big for her to be carrying. She is a determined little girl though. She will take a few steps, fall down and drop her desired object, and get right back up and try again. For awhile she was the "fussy" girl, but lately, she has been so easy to please. Always happy and smiling. She still is not talking much. With a lot of prompting I can get a DaDa or BaBa out of her, but at least she is babbling more and making sounds. Our parents as teachers educator asked me once if she talks more when I have her alone with me...Alone? Huh? Mike and I have talked recently about trying to do more one on one with each kid, but being that summer is his busy season and he doesn't usually get home from work before they are in bed, this will be hard to coordinate.

Rebecca is our little ham. She says "hi" to everyone we see and then just grins and flirts. The ladies at the grocery store just love her. She has a new smile where she scrunches up her nose that is totally adorable (if I do say so myself). She loves to talk and has probably about 12 words she uses pretty regularly. We found out the other day that she does NOT want a little sister or brother (not that we were planning on giving her one). We were at a friends house to see their new baby. As I was holding little Vinny, she crawled over, said "Baby" and burst into tears! She wouldn't stop until I pulled her up on the couch with us and let her snuggle with me. She has teken a liking to one of John's old baby blankets and in inconsolable without it. She takes it everywhere. John was never one for security blankets or anything at that age, so it's cute to finally see. Rebecca is not walking alone yet, but she will if you hold her hands or if she has a walker to hold onto. I did get her to take 1 step towards me the other day, but that's it. If I am more than an inch out of arms reach she will get down and crawl. She is also becoming very sensitive. The slightest "No Rebecca" gets the tears going. Oh, and if Natalie takes a toy...watch out. The girl has definately discovered her voice. The screams that come from her body could be used as a torture device. Wow! She is still a great eater, and if you have something and she sees you eating it, you better be ready to share or she will let you know she is MAD!

John has discovered the question every parent loves...Why? Why Mommy? Why? Why? Agh! It's one of those milestones I knew was coming, but I was hoping he would hold out a little longer. Oh, and my new favorite, "I don't want to!" People always ask if he is good with the babies, and really, it depends on the day. Some days are a battle from morning to night. Others, he is the sweetest little boy, consoling the girls, bringing them something new to play with, sharing his snack. Those days are great. Today was not one of those days. He is very excited to start pre-school summer camp (or Pre-Skoo Summer Tamp and he says). He also suddenly loves to dance. In the car we usually listen to kids cds, as my taste in music isn't always kid friendly. After listening to Barney one too many times I made him a cd of 50's music and he is in love with it. He has me bring it in from the car so we can dance inside, and he wears me out. He wants to know "the dance" to every song. I have become quite the choreographer. He is even quoting the Big Bopper. The other day, out of the blue, he came over to me on the couch and said, "Hellllooo Baaaby!" Speaking of babies, i was watching Dr. Phil the other day (a rarity for me) and he was having a show about talking to your kids about the birds and the bees. It was obviously geared to kids older than mine, but they did mention starting the talks early, like John's age, with simple things like babies come from Mommy's belly. Then when they are a little older and want to know how they got there, explaining that when a Mommy and Daddy love each other and get married God gives them a baby (or whatever your faith or lack there of would dictate), and then moving into more specifics as their age and questions progress. So I took that opprotunity to ask John if he knew where babies come from. He said yes. When I asked where he pointed to the girls bedroom. Very true...I left it at that for now. :)

Hopefully I'll get the camera out and post a few pics later this week. And one of these days I need to remember to bring the video camera with me when I get the babies up from their nap. They are always so cute and so excited. It's a time I want to preserve because I know it won't last long. The other day I heard them babling to each other so I went to get them up, and as I walked in I saw Rebecca pulling the sheet off her head and saying "Peek a Boo!" as Natalie cracked up. My babies are so gosh darn cute!