Storytelling

Steven didn't feel like napping when Eleanor did today, so instead he told her a story. I caught a minute in the middle of it:

Food, Glorious Food!

This one's for the grandparents, mostly - first, an older video that we just got around to uploading, of Steven's first attempt at cereal (he likes it a LOT now... not so much then):

And then a video from last night, of both babies' first taste of real food - green beans and sweet potatoes. Eleanor was actually in a really bad mood, so we weren't going to try it with her - that's usually a recipe for a giant mess and nothing ingested. But she got fascinated watching Steven eating, so I gave her a taste when he was done, and she loved it. At this point, he's a big fan of cereal but still skeptical about veggies, and she has little to no interest in cereal, but loves the more colorful stuff.

Sweet Naptime Conversation

After lunch today, Steven and Eleanor decided they weren't quite ready to sleep yet, and wanted to tell me all about it...

Fun Fun Fun Fun Fun!

It's funny - I have a book about babies that includes chapters about every age and what it's like. The four-month chapter started out talking about how four months is the "magic age" where babies are smiling and interacting but still staying where you put them. And it was true - that fourth month was great!

But then the fifth-month chapter starts out by saying, basically, you ain't seen nothing yet. You thought last month was fun? Well, now you're in for a treat.

And boy, we're they right. Because now? Now we have laughing. And not just occasional random maybe-about-to-cry laughing, but real sense-of-humor laughing. And these little personalities are just coming out all over the place.

Steven, our little Mr. Drama from day 1, is all extremes. You get him happy, and he'll sit there and laugh with you till your sides hurt.

In fact, right now he's sitting on my lap helping me type this at 10pm, because he decided, an hour after we put him to bed, that he'd rather play. So he screamed and yelled till we got him, and then was immediately all smiles and giggles.

Eleanor is more reserved - it takes more to make her smile, but when she does, it absolutely lights up the room. She bestows a laugh like a gift, and it's really something to treasure. You'll do anything in the world to keep it going.

People always tell me, "It gets better." And it's usually in a pitying/sympathetic tone of voice, and usually accompanies, "You really have your hands full." But one dad at a neighboring table at a restaurant said it best: "Every day is even better than the last." So far, he's right. And I hope my kids reply as his daughter, about 7, did: "Da-a-ad, you always say that."

Silliness

Because my mom suggested it, I thought I'd make a post as a repository of the silly comments we get when we're out shopping or at the library or wherever.

The most common, of course, is, "Oh, are they twins?" No, I just gestated the other one REALLY fast.

Today's comment, inspiring the blog post: "Aw, twins! Is the girl smarter?"

Here's what Steven has to say about that:

Added 10/14:

My new favorite silliness: when someone's been talking to me, and Steven's been chattering a mile a minute the whole time we've been talking, while Eleanor's been sitting silently, watching. Invariably, Eleanor will make one small noise, and they'll turn to me and say, "Oh, she's sure going to talk your ear off, isn't she? Girls always do."