So I have a bad mommy confession to make. We got here to A2 in April, and planned on being into our new house by the girls' birthday. Of course, that didn't happen, and we ended up on hold until July. A lot of things got put off in all of the uncertainty. And my natural tendency to procrastinate kicked in...and the girls never went to their 12 month checkup. Finding a new pediatrician, calling, and making an appointment just never got done. I know, I'm terrible. So I finally, at 16 months, took the girls to their "12 month" checkups. The girls waited pretty nicely for the dr to see us.
Rowan weighed in at 20'3", and Saoirse was 21'11". I was surprised, because it feels like there's more of a difference than that. They both measured 31.25 inches. The surprising thing to me was that their weight is still at about the 25th percentile, but their height is 75th. One thing I never expected to have was tall children. Chris is hoping this means there's hope for a basketball player after all. At least a point guard.
I captured this little bit of video right before the dr came in to examine the girls. They had been playing together pretty nicely, and being patient, and then obviously they got a little frustrated.
75th percentile??....
The other football season
One of Chris's favorite things in the fall is full field, full length soccer games. Since I've known him, I have spent a lot of time watching his matches, and now that the girls are here he's been anxious for them to be able to come along. Last Sunday we all went as a family. The girls loved being able to run around, get dirty, play with all of the soccer balls sitting on the sidelines while the guys played, and watch Daddy kick the ball around. Of course, Froggie had to come along. 
Indian summer
Lately I've been working on figuring out more stuff to do to stay busy with the girls during the day. Now that they're over a year old, less of the day is taken up with the work of just keeping them alive (diapering, feeding, naps). And they're learning so quickly, they need more stimulation. So we started the music class, and I've been checking out playplaces in Ann Arbor. We've tried the mall play area, the library downtown (they have a great kids section), the bookstores in town with kids' sections, some parks.
The other day I decided to get the girls outside to enjoy the last few 80 degree days of the year. So I took a bunch of kitchen stuff out onto the back patio and filled pots with water to play with. It was a pretty big hit. We're going to miss this soon.
Bye week blues
Saoirse says, "Dammit! We're 1 and 2! We lost to Notre Dame! And we're not playing this week, so we don't even have a chance to redeem ourselves."
Little musicians
So this week we went to our first music class all together. I was a little apprehensive about taking both of the babies all by myself. But it went really well. The class is very laid-back about kids walking around rather than sitting calmly, and there's no pressure for them to be participating "properly" so it works out well. Saoirse was still quiet, mostly sat on my lap. She did try to follow along with little movements to the songs a couple times, but she mostly watches. Rowan, on the other hand, loved being able to walk around. She had so much fun, I'm so glad I signed them up. She is so social. At one point the teacher said..."Ok, everybody find someone to cuddle!" Every other kid in the room went back to their mothers. Rowan went and sat on one of the other mom's lap, and she stayed there for the whole song. She sat on a different mother's lap during free play time, and she danced with the teacher during a circle song. I love to see how confident she is that everyone will love her. Everyone seems to, comments about what a charmer she is.
Here's Rowan before class:
Here are the girls together:
Out in the garage on our way to class, Rowan apparently thinks we're going to walk there:
After class we went to Sweetwater again for cocoa and scones. In the afternoon that day we went to campus and played on the Diag. More people for Rowan to try to befriend. What a day!
Eating habits of the toddler
I think I've written before about the fact that the kids eat a lot of things that I don't think the average toddler does. We take them out to eat pretty often, and I almost never order something off the kid menu. Especially since the kid menu is the same everywhere we go. French fries, chicken fingers, grilled cheese, maybe pizza and spaghetti. I'm bored just reading the kids menu. So we order food that's sharable, and the kids eat off our plates. Let's face it, restaurants serve us enough to feed about 6 children, so feeding two really isn't a problem.
Rowan is a picky eater, in her own way. She has very specific preferences, and they're not always about the actual food. Sometimes it's about how it's served to her. Sometimes she needs a piece of meat cut up, for instance. Sometimes she refuses to eat it unless it's whole, and she can chew pieces of it off herself. Sometimes she allows us to feed her, sometimes we have to stab something with a fork and then hand it to her and let her get it in her mouth on her own. She loves bread in any form. She loves fruit, and yogurt.
Saoirse is definitely not picky. She loves all food, except a few green veggies. I haven't decided yet if this wide ranging appreciation means that she's a little foodie in the making...or if it means she has no taste buds at all and she'll just eat anything. We'll see as she gets older.
These pictures were taken the night of the 11th, their 16th month "birthday." Yes, Saoirse is really eating sushi. Rowan, on the other hand, ate a little bit of the white rice and then started finger painting with Chris's soy sauce.
Fonder
Ok, no time for a real post, I've got little girls in their highchairs. But Saoirse and I went and picked up Rowan this morning, and I'd just like to say, I don't know how I could be away from that sweet little face for 3 whole nights. She is officially the most gorgeous thing I've ever seen!! :)And Saoirse and Rowan were happy to see each other again, they even hugged each other and snuggled their faces together in the McDonald's where we met.
