File Under: It's About Time

On Saturday, JoeJoe was not walking on his own at all, if he knew he wasn't being helped. He'd been walking with help for a while, but would only take a few steps before he realized he wasn't receiving assistance, after which he would promptly sit down. On Sunday, he was coaxed into walking some on his own by "LaLa," his favoritest person ever. By Wednesday, he was walking/running all over the house.

If this story sounds familiar, this is exactly how he started crawling. Emma had been doing it for a while before he even tried, after which he had mastered it in 3 days. So, he's 5 weeks behind her in walking, but I think he'll be up to speed by next week. Of course, he might not be as proficient as Emma, whom my dad has decided to make a hockey player, as she has excellent balance.

So they're both walking. This is the part where things get a little hectic, or so I hear...

A Pox on Your House. Oh Wait, Mine.

Upper Holley -

In startling news this weekend (Ed. The news is not startling), two cases of varicella zoster virus were discovered in two young children. This rare disease (Ed. The disease is not rare) has affected twins from the same family. The ailment, commonly known as "chicken pox," resulted in itching and general irritability in the tots. The source of the infection is suspected to be a nosocomial in nature, a result of their one-year vaccines (Ed. The infection does NOT meet the definition of nosocomial, our intrepid reporter just likes that word). Remarkably, the tots are already on the road to recovery (Ed. The recovery, while rapid, does not meet the definition of "remarkable") and are expected to be back up to full speed within days.

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In other news, Emma has been walking for almost two weeks. JoeJoe, while he enjoys walking with assistance, his confidence is not quite ready. However, he gets quite frustrated when he sees Emma walking around and he's not. He made a few tentative steps over the weekend when he didn't realize he was without support. It shouldn't be too long, however, before they're both running us ragged.

Say, It's Your Birthday

Let's all think back to an earlier time. A time of wonder, joy, and possibility. I think you all know I'm referring to "The Month Before This One."

[wavy screen and chimes]

The Twinks 1st birthday party was held the Saturday after we got back from the frigid hinterlands the locals call "Chicago." We left JoeJoe's hair long so everyone up there could see his curls. Of course, the air is drier up there, so what are curly locks down here end up being just a mullet in Chi-Town. Since his actual birthday had passed, and we wouldn't get the "but-you-have-to-let-it-grow-for-a-year" routine, we took him for his first haircut. We took him to Toni, the only person (besides Sarah) who has cut my hair since I was in 11th grade (that's late '91 for those scoring at home). We actually snuck in ahead of my dad's appointment, but he was game. JoeJoe was game, too, for he did not know what fate had in store for him.



We went with a scissor cut, because clippers would have left his fine, blond hair looking rather insubstantial.



After a while, he began to get worried. This wasn't nearly as fun as sitting on Daddy's lap and looking at the mirrors. He was led astray!



Lo, there was wailing, and gnashing of teeth. Betrayal! Yea, by his own father! And his father's father!



At last, the torment ended, and he was a big boy!



Onward we pressed to the party itself. Sarah and our friend (The Twinks' babysitter) really decked the place out with yummy food and a wall o' photos.



If you're wondering about that photo at the top of the wall o' photos, there's a story in it. In late 2006, The Twinks' two older cousins were born. Maddy's birthday party was on December 9, 2007. Since she was turning One, in the winter, her mom made very cute invitations to the "Winter Onederland." However, many people missed the pun, as the "O" in "One-derland" had a picture of Maddy in it. This caused some to read the invitation as being to a "Winder Nederland." I, of course, found this fantastic, and decided that any child who had a first birthday in December should have a Winder Nederland. As it happens, The Twinks were born on the day of Maddy's party, so we didn't get to go. However, we payed homage to the idea, with our own twist.



Rambling aside, let's get back to the party. The kids were dressed in some classy duds and the proceedings began. JoeJoe got to show off his new haircut, and Emma's hair was done up as only Auntie Hope can do it.





Friends and family came and we ate too much. We'll have to show the kids pictures when they're older so they can appreciate who came to their party. In the meantime, Sarah and I are very appreciative of all who came. It really was great.

We suited the kids up in their IKEA cake-slickers and let them stare at the candles. They don't know how to, and we really didn't want them to, blow out the candles on their own. Besides, these candles (from my friend Joe and his fiance Sara) will be their candles once they know what to do with them. We chuckled as we thought of The Twinks at 14 saying, "Gosh, Dad! Do I have to use my baby candle?!?! All the kids will laugh at me! It's got a rubber ducky on it, for pete's sake!"







JoeJoe watched Emma at first, to see if he liked her technique.



He did. She observed to make sure he did it right.



They received many excellent toys, some very cute clothes, delightful books, and even a Radio Flyer wagon. I have some personal favorites, one of which I bought and the others which my cousin, Jenn, bought, but I'll have to upload the pictures later. Needless to say, when your dad is a microbiologist, there are certain toys that you'll have that most other kids won't. Which is fantastic.

Within Which Are Many Pictures

We had a Wintery-Twintery time in Chicago this time. There was never a time when there wasn't snow on the ground.


On Sunday, we celebrated The Twinks' birthday up in Chicago with our Great Lakes relatives.

Emma struck a pose with her cowboy cake...


While Joseph got right down to business.


We also had Christmas with Uncle Matthew, Aunt Nicole, and cousins Will and Josh. The Twinks were decked out as Santamen.




As is my wont, I put gift bows on their heads (and my own, at times, but there are no photos thereof).




As one-year old kids tend to be, they were often more impressed with the wrapping than the gifts. They'll figure it out soon enough...


Oh wait, maybe Emma already has...


We also have to thank the kind people at Palm Court as we left quite a mess behind at this end of our dinner table.

Emma and Will had much fun.


JoeJoeMan got serious with his breadstick.


Of course, there are many more photos from our trip to be found at the Flickr site (check the badge to the right), as well as some that I never posted from our "All Saints' Day Dress-Up" at my parents'. There's some cute stuff there...

Oy, Airlines

We flew back home yesterday, and lemmie tell ya, it wasn't fun. We got through O'Hare pretty easily (delayed 30 min, I think), but the kids were none too happy on the flight. Thankfully we were sitting near understanding, kind people. Then came Memphis. We got on the plane on time, but then it went South. The plane was HOT. Also, it turns out, the plane was overweight, so we had to have volunteers to leave the plane. In the end, we sat at the gate, in the plane, for an hour before we took off. We fed The Twinks when we got on the plane, but they were already fussy before the plane even took off. I did not have the touch, as I couldn't get either of them to fall asleep. Sarah got Emma to sleep and we swapped, but she eventually woke up, and was sore displeased. As we got close to home, we were told that visibility was bad and we might have to divert to an airport 2.5 hours away from home (with no car, natch). They decided to fly around for 15 minutes to see if the visibility got better. Eventually it did, or they decided to cheat, because we finally landed, and not a minute too soon. Sarah and I hadn't eaten since breakfast so when we got in at 5:30 we were starving. The Twinks seemed glad to be home, and happily terrorized our cat and dogs, and played with toys, old and new. Thankfully, they went to bed early and slept pretty well last night (or if they didn't, I certainly wasn't awakened by them). Of course, they were up with the sun at 5 AM this morning, but that's every morning...

Happy Birthday!

The Twinks turn "One Years Old" today. To celebrate, we went shopping at Target in the snow. Chicago + December Weather + Babies = Not That Fun. It really started snowing again this afternoon and we're hoping we don't get delayed flying back tomorrow, but it is Chicago...

We'll have some pictures to post after we get back. All in all, we've had fun, as busy as we've been. Those of you who remember our terrible American Airlines experience back in February will be happy to hear that our Northwest Airlines experience was much better. From Pensacola to Memphis we even got to sit at the front at the bulkhead, with an empty seat for the kiddos on each side. Jackpot.

Babies and Food

Since The Twinks have a milk protein allergy, we've had to introduce some foods later than most. This includes meat (which they've been on for almost a month now) and, as you'll see below, graham crackers.



Emma was a little less enthusiastic than Joseph, but she still liked them. She's very businesslike about her food.



Emma also is proud of herself afterward, and claps for herself.



Joseph already has "See-Food" down pat.



And he usually gives us a speech after dinner. We don't know what he's saying, but he says it with feeling.



He's probably telling us that crackers are way better than that "meat" stuff that smells like cat food. Ugh. I HATE meaty baby food.