Updates & such

Ok, time for the “what the hell are B&K up to these days” update:

Bennett (aka B-man, B-dude, B-fence, Benji (don’t ask), Bennihana and little man) will melt your heart with his smiles, which he will give you with just a glance. He has the.best.giggle.ever and is SUPER ticklish. He loves to sing and bang things (which is why the Leap Frog drum from his friends Jarrett & Jackson is a HUGE hit). He is more vocal than his sister and says mama, dada, baba, yeahyeah, and a variety of other consonant sounds. He loves to repeat what others do and say and loves to take things apart. He is getting so much better every day at using his skinny little arms to pull himself up while on his belly and we know he will grow into his smart big brain head very soon. He is also getting better at putting weight on his legs and will stand for a period of time. He has inherited long eye lashes (not sure from where) and is starting to get curly hair like me. His eyes have been dark brown from the start and we’re pretty sure that isn’t going to change any time soon (one of the NICU nurses told me eye color can change up to 2 years of age). He will eat just about anything, but can be picky at times. He LOVES to pick things up and loves to feed himself. He is very good with the sippy cup and a pro (FINALLY) at holding his big bottle on his own (even to the point where he will put it down and then put it back into his mouth – what a smart boy!). He has 8 teeth (4 on top and 4 on the bottom) and after a weird fever this week we suspect he may be getting ready to cut a few more.

Kendyll (aka Kendy, K-Force, Kendylicious, Chickie Monkey, Banana and sexy mama (yes, I call my 12 mo old daughter sexy)) has always been our on the go girl and that is no exception now that she is crawling everywhere. And let me tell ya – the girl is fast. And strong. I mean SUPER strong! She can pull herself up on to anything (like the TV tray set up with my dinner on it or the dog – she loves to pull herself up while Tabasco is laying on the floor). Normally she is repeating her favorite word – dada dada – over & over again as she is on her mission to get to wherever she is going. She loves to open & close door (or even just push them back & forth) and she LOVES to look through the windows in the French doors separating our living & family rooms. She will eat anything – normally by the fistful into her mouth. She sometimes pulls out her “diva” ways when it comes to holding her own bottle – she start out holding it, but then if you even motion like you might be putting your hand in the general area of her bottle she’ll get go and scream until you pick it up and put it in her mouth for her. Yeah, we’re working on that. She will take a few steps if you hold her hands, but she unfortunately has inherited the coordination and grace of her mother (read: she is quite clumsy). So often times as she pulls herself up on something or tries to walk behind something she’ll fall flat on her face (and gain a new bruise or scratch in the process – lovely). Guess that comes with the mobility territory. While B is into singing, K is into dancing. She LOVES to dance & sway to the music . . . and let me tell ya, with all of these new noise making toys in the house there is a lot of the “ABC song” and other nursery rhymes to jam to. Her hair is coming in poker strait (and finally starting to lay flat vs. spikey) and her eyes are a different color every day -- sometimes blue, sometimes gray, sometimes green, sometimes hazel. Who knows where they will end up, but the concensous is that they are HUGE. K still only has three teeth -- two on the bottom and that snaggletooth on the top.

Both B & K are really starting to play & interact with each other. K loves to crawl around, near, on and over B all the time and of course they love to take each other’s toys (thankfully B has finally grown some balls and will yank stuff right back from K – or even steal it in the first place. Yeah – that’s the spirit!!). Every once & a while they will crack up at each other (over what I’m never really sure). They have started to do some sympathy cries when the other one is crying (I think they’ve learned this from Tabasco because he still cries whenever one of them cries, too). Good times. They share their food – the funniest was when Kendyll took a puff thing off of Bennett’s high chair tray and B gave her the nastiest look. He proceeded to swipe the rest of his food to the other side of his tray away from her. :-) They both will clap their hands (prompted or unprompted) and are VERY good at shaking their heads "no" (I even caught B saying "yes" the other day).

Still no new pictures . . . a demon has taken over our laptop. But I will try to post some soon (maybe sneak them on my work computer).