Like Sand Through the Hourglass...

The sickness has set in again at our house, taking down our little Goo within 12 hours of her first cough. She was up practically the whole night Thursday, poor little love. As much as I hate to see her sick, there is nothing better than a snuggling baby…and man did she want to snuggle! This was perfectly acceptable for me, however when I went to work Friday morning, Cory was left to figure out how to take care of Si without ever actually putting Grace down. That man never ceases to amaze me!

Last week, we had our second adventure in the Great White, also known as our front yard. This situation turned out much better than our previous, as we parents actually planned ahead. Our ratio of time spent getting ready to play in the snow vs. time spent playing in the snow was greatly skewed, but it was well worth it. I don’t think I will ever be able to see the little ones toddling around in their gear without thinking of the infamous scene from “The Christmas Story.” I truly believe the clothing we had on them outweighed them two fold. They had a little trouble trying to run in their snow boots, but when they fell on the ground they didn’t seem to mind at all. Next time we have a decent amount of snow, I think we may try our hand at sledding down a little nearby hill.

Silas has started to let his boyness show every single day, he loves to push and yell and run around with his arms flapping as if he may take flight any moment. Grace usually quietly watches nearby and giggles nervously when he comes close to her. They are also becoming quite the pair, they play with one another all day long and make each other laugh or cry…and sometimes a cross between the two emotions. At meal/snack time you can see their bond most clearly as they babble back and forth and pass food or drinks from one tray to the other. (The dogs wisely position themselves on the floor in between the highchairs, as about 60% of the food falls during this passing game)

Each week, we try to teach the little ones more pretend play. I think it is important to have an imagination, so fostering that need is one of our biggest goals right now. They have the pretend feeding down pat, and routinely give each other “bite bites” out of the play spoon, and sometimes feed their stuffed animals. A few days ago I started crawling around the floor meowing (Cory walked in about 2 min into this and just stared at me, I think he has been preparing himself for a couple of years for the day when I finally lost it..so he didn’t seem too surprised). Grace started howling with laughter and threw herself on the carpet and started crawling and shaking her head from side to side. Si just watched us for a moment, then collapsed onto the floor too and started giggling. We then transitioned into becoming dogs and barking, this was the biggest hit. Last night, when I came home from work, I said “Let’s pretend to be doggies” and both little ones started barking (well, their version of barking…a weird arf noise), smiling, and crawling around. It cracked me up, and then we really had quite the time when I began to chase them. Oh how I love little moments like this, there truly is nothing better.

I cannot believe how different they are, the little personalities are becoming more apparent each day:

Grace is very attached to me, and prefers the nook in my arm to most other locations. She loves to observe any situation before involving herself. She likes to do things on her own schedule and has quite the opinion on most topics, which she makes clear by “Nu Nu” noises. She loves to sit in our laps and read books, and likes to brush my hair. If Silas opens a cabinet we forgot to lock, she stands back and exclaims “No no No no!” When I leave for work, she runs to the front window to watch me go, and squeals when I come home. She melts my heart on a hourly basis.

Si is loud and active, he very rarely sits still. He has been known to run in and out of the kitchen just yelling and laughing for reasons unbeknownst to us. He always wants to play with Gracie, even though she doesn’t always want to play with him. He loves to throw things, climb onto objects, and make loud noises. He also is sensitive; he becomes upset whenever Cory or I leave the room… leaving for work every morning is tough; when he sees me put my coat on he starts to cry and hold his arms up to me. He is a wonderful combination of liveliness and softness. He melts my heart on a hourly basis.

Life. Is. Good.