16 Month Old Girls with Proud Parents!

Over the past month the girls have been really growing. As from the post earlier, you all know that Olivia started walking. As of right now, she is attempting to walk really fast. Almost running. Oh boy, she will be a hard one to catch I'm sure. But the new news is about Juliana! She started walking a few days ago. Her sister was the first to see as they were playing in the kitchen and I heard them giggling so I went to check it out. There Juliana was on her feet taking a few steps! She would fall and then pick herself back up and try again. For the days following she has been practicing every moment she gets. However, if she is wanting to get somewhere really fast she resorts to old habits and crawls. Olivia on the other hand does not crawl very much anymore. She rather use her feet.

I love seeing my little ones achieve a new stage in life. They actually play more when they are both on their feet. Almost like they need to share in the fun of walking. Besides walking we are talking and making more messes. Now that we are mobile the bookshelves are bare on occasion. One interest that the girls have acquired is Precious, our toy rat terrier. Olivia will go around the house holding a tennis ball saying "Pre Pre" and Juliana has learned that she can pet Precious. To our surprise, Precious will lay there and let Juliana pet her back and head. They will even give each other kisses, which is quite humorous. I would definitely call these "Precious moments."

 Precious and Juliana exchanging kisses.

 Precious and Juli playing.

Since Daddy is working long hours that means that the girls go with Mama on her errands around town. Usually we need to keep them limited to one store. Walmart would be one of those stores. It is the most fun to shop in (sarcastically said) because I can't get in and out due to the twin factor. I put Juliana in the seat in front of me and Olivia in the back with some toys. The moment I enter the store, I get people looking at me saying "oh! look how cute, she has two!" The other comment I get is "are they twins?" (Note they are dressed alike and they are the same size and look exactly alike). I find this one humorous as well. Now that we are in the store and attempting to go down the cosmetic aisle Olivia has made six friends. My child is so social she has asked every stranger to pick her up and carry her around. Most people don't and just settle for a hug, but yesterday there was a lady that asked me if she could. Erring on the side of caution, I let her. I don't know what it was, but after she put her back into the basket, she looked at me with tears in her eyes and said it made her day. I guess my children have that kind heart that can touch a soul. I only hope they continue to hold that kind of attitude throughout their life. After our cosmetic adventure we travel on to the baby section to get some food and diapers. This is where the fun begins. My children start screaming because they want food, which by the way, I just fed them. To distract them, I hand Olivia a red ball. She sat on it! You know those exercise balls that are made for adults? I just found one for my child...ah ha ha ha. She sat holding on to the side of the basket and bounced on it. This has been the new thing in our home.

 Olivia with her ball. 

 Olivia playing with her ball. 

Sweet Olivia.

Olivia has an attachment to this red ball. She picks it up and walks around the house with it. Juliana will attempt to play with her and Olivia starts screaming at her. Oh boy, maybe I should have bought two. Even "Pre Pre" is not allowed to play with it. So Juliana and Precious started playing together and left Olivia out. One day they will learn to share.

 Olivia saying No to her sister playing with the ball. 

Juliana and Precious playing together.

Some of you would probably like an update on how the girls are doing with their eating. This has been a challange as most of you know, but recently we have been trying new things. So far waffles are alright even if they have milk in them, they have also had graham crackers and seem to do fine. Fruit seems to be a better issue as well. I did not want to try strawberries yet, but blueberries are at the top of the girls list!

Today we went blueberry picking. This was the girls' first time out in the heat with Mama picking blueberries and eating them too. Every time I would pick one, Juliana would take it out of my hand and eat it. Really funny fact....when I went to change her diaper, it had a slight smell of blueberries. I know, sick, but true. The girls loved them. They started out with blackberries and the juice would run down their mouth. So cute. They really seemed to enjoy it. I love these memories and look forward to making more as the girls grow. We are really entering into the fun stage.

 Juliana and Olivia eating blackberries.

Us girls out pickin'

Juliana and Olivia are into expressing themselves. They will point to things they want and say "tat" or "tat pees". We say our prayers and they fold their hands and say "Ah um" at the end. They are singing the letter part of Old McDonald and also making the sounds of animals in the song. They are showing frustration and empathy through their moods. One instance was when I had both girls in the tub and Juliana decided to stand. I told her to sit down, but instead of listening, she tried to get away from me. She slipped and caught herself, but did hit her chin on the side of the tub. This resulted in wailing. I immediately took her out of the tub to see if she was alright (which she was) and held her while she wailed. Olivia didn't like her sister crying like that and took it upon herself to quit playing in the tub and climb out onto my lap. So here I sit, one towel, two sopping wet toddlers and one is screaming. I tried to put Olivia down and she started to cry. Knowing that Olivia can walk now, I left her naked in the bathroom and took Juliana in her bedroom and here comes Olivia toddling in, watching me dress her sister. After Juliana was finished I promptly put a diaper on Olivia and finished our normal night routine with the girls.

Juliana expressing her happiness!

So many adventures in this house there is no room for dull moments. Really, I think I would miss it all if I was away from them. As much as we all need our peace, we find so much joy through our girls. Life would not be the same without them. They are precious little angels (most of the time). These 16 months have been a blessing. I look forward to another one.