11 Months

Where has the time gone? I cannot believe that they are only a month away from their first birthday...and only a month away from being toddlers. Where did my little babies go?

For the record, here are some of the things they are currently doing/they currently love:

They are cruising. They can get around the room pretty quickly holding onto things. And lately they've been trying out letting go. They actually do better when they let go without realizing. The problem is that once they notice they are no longer holding onto anything they usually fall down...They are also both waving (I love it!). They make it obvious that they know general routines, and they listen to commands (when they want to...). There are already some things they know they cannot touch or places they cannot go (and there are some of those that they cannot resist...). They are trying to climb...on everything. I have caught Allie once successfully on top of an overturned laundry basket (intended to be a barrier) and grabbed her by the leg just before she dove off the other side. Ah, they keep mama busy!

Allie LOVES to eat: anything with blueberries, avacados, kiwi, squash. She usually is a very dainty, slow eater, but when she has any of these foods she shoves them in their mouth in record time. Unfortunately, I think she might be sensitive to the citrus in kiwi as it seems to cause a rash on her hands and mouth :(

Ryan is not a fan of: avacados or kiwi. In general, he is my little vacuum cleaner - he'll eat pretty much anything and do it in record time. But these two things he tends to squish around and drop on the floor...the good news is that he now eats chicken without any complaints! The bad news...he seems to be my food allergy baby (more on that later...)

Ryan LOVES "Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?" If he happens to see the book (on the couch, in the toy box, or under the ottoman), he refuses to do anything else until you read it to him. He grunts the entire time you read it. And he generally throws a fit when it's done unless you let him look through the pages again...and again...and again. He could look through the book endlessly I think. We've been having talks about how even things we enjoy have to end sometime...

Allie LOVES "Rainbow Rob's Touch & Feel." While the title sounds a little sketchy, the book is actually pretty fantastic. The rhyming is catchy (and I should know because I've read it enough times that I have it memorized), it has a nice contrast of black & white with bold colors, and it has a good message (being who you are created to be is cool). Mostly, Allie just likes to turn the pages & feel the textures though.

I LOVE that they love books! I also love that they have great taste in the books they have picked as favorites!

Both babies LOVE daddy. Allie has started to race toward the door when she hears his key in the lock. She'll stand at the gate and wait for him to come in. Then the two babies fuss and pull on each other, vying to be the first he picks up, while he takes off his coat and shoes. It is the sweetest thing.

I can't decide if I'm disappointed that the countdown to the move is slightly overshadowing the countdown to their first birthday (because it's taking away my focus), or if I'm thankful (because it takes my mind off the fact that my babies are growing up)...