And It Continues...

Later Mike and I drove around Venice Beach to find a house to buy. Turned out we're not quite ready to move.

Anyhow, we weren't going to get home until much later that afternoon so we searched high and low for an In-N-Out Burger.

Elliot and Henry shared an cheeseburger.

What a food day!

Fast Food Nation, Part 1

On Monday we drove from the Inland Empire (The Furnace Of California) to Santa Monica. It was quite a bit cooler on the coast.




We had a good time walking around town, but couldn't find the right place to eat lunch. Both Henry and Elliot began to rebel while we were on the pier, where our food options were limited to carnival fare and Bubba Gumps Shrimp House. I'm not sure who actually eats at Bubba Gumps, but we've run into number of them lately. Blech.

So the babies shared a $4 hot dog.

I'm pretty sure it was organic.

It's Great to be a Twin!!

Elliot and Henry play at Aunt Michele's house in California.

Swimming!

At Mike's sister's house in California the boys had their first swim in a pool!



I slathered them up with sunblock and covered their little bodies into swim clothes.




Poor babies were probably burning up before getting into the pool; each day the temperatures were well over 100. Here are some photos of the good life.

Elliot's First Steps!!

When Henry and Elliot were tiny babies Elliot worked so hard to roll from back to front. They had both gone from tummy to back and were pretty reliable. For weeks Elliot arched his back and was able to get to his side. Everywhere we went I talked about how much Elliot wanted to move.

One really crummy night I was up and down; feeding the babies and trying to get them to sleep. About five am (I don't think the three of us had any real sleep) I was sitting in the glider between the cribs feeding Elliot. I heard scratching noises from Henry's crib; it sounded like a rat pawing at the sheet. When I used the night light and peered into the crib I could see Henry on his stomach! I started to laugh, turned on the light and decided that would be the perfect way to start the new day. But poor Elliot, he got robbed. All that effort only to be upstaged.

The tables turned around that time. Henry went from being extremely fussy to fairly flexible and mobile. Elliot had been a happy baby but around 5 months he began teething and nothing would make him happy. Henry started crawling at five and a half months; Elliot wanted to crawl but just couldn't get going. It's been hard to not compare them. Actually, I am constantly comparing the boys but am trying to not worry when one meets a milestone before the other.

Now at ten months both boys are fantastic! Elliot claps; Henry does not. Henry had begun to wave a bit; Elliot's more consistent. I'll look over and Henry will have a book open and will be looking at the pages, which delights me. The other day when I was feeling worried that Elliot rarely sits still he opened a book and played with it like Henry.

So these firsts steps are just the beginning. Henry's going to walk when crawling doesn't get him around fast enough. Elliot's going to eat when he wants to eat. It's hard to me to respect that they know what they need, but I'm getting there.

So, yay for baby Elliot! I'm so happy for these first little steps!

One Baby, Two Rice Paddles

Elliot is pretty aggressive. If another kid has a toy, he just grabs what he wants and tugs until it's his. Henry's a little more patient; sometimes he'll wait until Elliot's looking away and then pull the toy to him. This morning, though, Henry just reached over and took a ball out of Elliot's hand. Elliot just sat there. Maybe sharing comes in all forms?

Laughing

Here's a funny video of Elliot and Henry laughing at each other. I was sitting in the glider with Elliot on my lap with Henry behind us. Elliot's laugh is so high pitched compared to Henry's hoarse voice. It's worth posting even though the angle's weird.

Lead By Example

Mike went to the dentist last week and came home with a new toothbrush. We gave it to the babies because we're supposed to be brushing their teeth every night. Here's a video of me showing Henry how to take care of your gums.



While we were brushing I noticed that he has two more top teeth and two coming through on the bottom as well! That puts Henry in the lead with 8 teeth and very little fussing. Elliot's trying to catch up and is working on three of his top teeth, with minimal fussing. Good work, babies!