What the Babies Are Doing

Alex

One day last week Alex and I were playing in the living room. All of a sudden he just started twirling. I laughed as he spun around and giggled at himself. He kept spinning until his eyes got the look of dizziness and then he collapsed on the floor laughing hysterically. It was so funny! Now, whenever he starts to turn, I’ll say ‘turn, turn, turn’ and he laughs even harder as he spins around in circles. When he starts to get off balance he switches direction and keeps going until he falls down laughing. It’s so stinking cute!

He’s not saying too many things that make any sense. But he sure babbles all the time. He is clearly saying: Hi and Ball. He’ll point to things and say, what sounds like, ‘what’s that?’ Of course, I answer all the questions he asks until he stops asking. His curiosity is unbounded. Given the chance, he’s into everything. He’s getting better at listening to the word NO. But it really depends on his mood as to whether or not he’ll stop going for the object of his desire. Mostly he’s interested in my laptop, our phones, and anything that has buttons and lights up. He’s fascinated with all things technological. I don’t want to snuff that fire. I’m hoping these are the early indicators of a man who will invent marvelous things! Specifically, teleportation. Dream big or go home!

We’re still working with him on using sign language to communicate. Sometimes he’ll randomly use a sign, but he’s not at all consistent. Josh sat with him on the couch recently, pleading with Alex to sign ‘dad.’ Instead of using the sign, Alex would just say “dadadada” and laugh as Josh used the sign. Honestly, it’s a funny sign. I laugh at it. But, after nearly 30 minutes of persistence on Josh’s part, Alex decided to do the sign on Josh’s forehead. He smacked Josh’s forehead with an open palm and announced, “Da Da Da.” Josh lost it. He laughed so hard, tears streamed down his face. Alex in turn laughed equally as hard at Josh. It was too cute to listen to and watch. He’s grasping the concept, but isn’t quite executing it yet. He’s 14 months old now, so I anticipate he’ll start doing things soon.

Alex loves to be read to. He’ll grab a book, walk over to you, turn around, and plop into your lap and wait. Adorable. He’s got the patience of a fly. So the book better have very few words on it or he’ll just flip through the pages. There’s one particular book he’s fond of and fortunately I have it memorized. He can flip all through it and I know what the pages say. He loves it!

He has one random molar coming in. It’s literally all alone in the top of his mouth. It’s quite funny to look in his mouth and see the lone tooth. I don’t remember how Isabelle’s teeth came in, so this might be unique...not sure. He’s still holding onto the 8 teeth he’s had for months. The efficiency of those teeth is incredible. He’ll eat anything. Some meats take him a while to chew, but he’ll work it out. Or else he’ll take it out of his mouth and leave it somewhere special for me to find later.

Isabelle

There is massive denial when admitting how grown up this little girl is getting. She’s 13 years old now and in her summer before 8th grade. During the final months of school, she played ponytail softball. The season was the first she’d ever played. She has done so remarkably for her first go and Josh and I are so proud of her determination. A good friend of ours has taken her under her wing to teach her the basics of the game. Kelly, our friend, played college softball on a scholarship, so her expertise is awesome. Since Kelly pitched, Isabelle has developed the desire to do the same. Because she’s so passionate about being the best, she was able to pitch a few games over the season. It was awesome!

She was selected to try-out for the All Star team, which was also fantastic! Her position is 1st base and she’s very efficient. The girl’s got a cannon on her and she’s superb at catching the ball. Very important to play 1st base. Obviously she did so well, she was selected to play as an All Star. Her first game was last night. They lost, but that’s a whole other story. The league is a disaster. But at least she’s playing and continuing to learn and hone her craft. The natural ability she has with this sport is uncanny. Coaches and other adults who have watched her play, assume she’s been playing a while. Pretty cool compliment! She’s come a long way from playing catch in the back yard with her dad.

She’s growing up so fast, I swear I wake up to a new person every day. She’s getting very close to being as tall as I am, which bugs me. I can only imagine how irritating it was for my mom to watch me shoot past her height. Fortunately Isabelle has a little ways yet before she passes me. But it’s going to happen. She’s already wearing the same size shoe as me. It’s nuts.

She’s so excited about the summer vacation. She has a lot going on right now and it’s only going to get busier. Rachel, Joel, and Sam will all be here in less than a month and they’ll be staying for 6 weeks. She’s beside herself with anticipation for their arrival. We all are! Then, when August gets here, she’ll be flying to Alaska to visit her cousin, aunt Jodie, and Uncle Roy. She loves going to Alaska. It’s a ton of fun for her. It’s going to be a very packed summer!

Josh and Emma

Nothing too new going on for the two of us. Josh works his rear-end off so I can be at home with the kiddies. He’s been encouraging me to do more writing and things that stimulate my noggin. I’m trying to do that more frequently. He’s found a new obsession and it’s sort of funny. His buddy picked up a bow fishing reel. Josh already had one, so having someone to go out with makes it all the more fun. So the past couple of Sundays he’s gone down to the San Pedro River and bow fished and bow frogged. He loves it! I’m not interested in it at all...so I leave it to him. I’m sure he’ll go out on the boat soon to try bow fishing on a lake. Then I’ll be a widow to fishing. I guess there are worse things.