Duckie's Great Adventure

Lena's beloved stuffed duck, "Ducky", took a field trip this weekend. Unbeknownst to us, Lena brought Ducky to the park yesterday where her friends Stella and Oliver were celebrating their third birthday. We all, including Ducky apparently, had a great time swimming in the park pool and playing on the playground with our friends.

After cake we headed home for naps, where it became apparent that Ducky was missing. Although Lena has a spare duck for these sorts of situations, she was not pleased with the replacement (we're not sure how she knows which duck is which since they are exactly the same) and instead unhappily chose to sleep with "Blanky", "Giraffy", and "Big Bird".

Ducky goes missing every once in a while, usually accidentally left behind at school or at a friend's house, so we didn't think much of it when we couldn't find him yesterday afternoon. But last night we received a phone call from Auntie Naomi to let us know that a man had contacted her about a missing duck. Apparently Ducky was left behind at the park earlier that day and a nice gentleman picked him up and was able to track down Naomi using the Lena Spirn name on Ducky's tag and the internet.

Ducky is home safe, thank goodness! Below are the reunited friends.

And We've Got A Biped

Maia has been practicing her walking skills for the past month since she took her first steps in May. She is so funny because she started taking steps even before she knew how to stand up by herself. She's always on the go this little one and has never been able to stand still long enough to well, stand still. So instead she just goes. And falls after two steps or so.

She's improved quite a bit though since she first started practicing, and today she can walk alone for about 10 to 15 steps without falling. She walks from Mama to Daddy, and from coffee table to sofa, even from the living room into the kitchen. She is quite happy about her newfound mobility, and likes to clap for herself when she makes it to her desired destination. Her balance is quite extraordinary and she sometimes walks sideways, almost like a little shuffle... we wonder how she's able to keep going, but she does! 

Clara has not learned to walk or stand by herself, and yesterday seemed quite annoyed with her inability to move like her sister. We are trying to work with her, and for now we have her practicing standing on her own, which she will sometimes do (unlike her sister), and walking with us holding her hands. Clara still needs to learn how to bend her knees when taking steps, and hasn't quite acquired the balancing act. She'll get there, but a little more slowly than Maia. To each her own time. We love them both for their unique personalities and qualities and talents. More about this later. 

Here is video of Maia walking.

We Made It!

Clara and Maia turned ONE year old this past Saturday. We celebrated with a laid back morning birthday party at our house. Dad bought donuts from A Baker's Wife, a fabulous bakery in South Minneapolis, and Mom made a fancy fruit salad with organic strawberries, blueberries, and mangoes, and yummy cupcakes. About thirty or so friends and family members joined us to sing happy birthday to C and M and toast to a fantastic healthy and beautiful year.

Clara and Maia have grown up so much this year. We now have babies who crawl all over the house, climb up and down the stairs and furniture, babble incommunicable words, eat solid foods, sleep through the night, almost walk, clap their hands, swim in the bathtub, shriek with delight at anything funny, giggle for no reason, play with their older sister, talk amongst themselves in their own baby language, and clearly love us and each other. Happy Happy Birthday to our beautiful littlest girls.

One Month To Go

We're a month away from Clara and Maia's birthday and three days into May, and it's snowing! This spring has really tested everybody's patience, and the entire state of Minnesota is ready to move to California if the warmer weather doesn't show up, AND stick around.

Last week in fact, we had a couple of beautiful warm days that made me remember what it feels like to have the sun beaming onto my shoulders. I even worked up the courage to take ALL three girls for a walk together. We leisurely strolled down to the playground by Lake Calhoun where we played for an hour, before returning back home to meet up with Daddy. Lena was very well behaved and I am lucky she likes to stay close to Mommy and her sisters.

It now feels like months have past since that lovely spring day, though it was only last week. Outside the roofs are covered in white and the trees are blowing in the stormy wind. The birds and other animals have hidden somewhere, I don't know where, and all those people who came out in droves last week to experience the final arrival of spring (it has literally taken months) are hanging their heads low, and turning up the heat at home.

Three Teeth!

I was starting to worry that Clara and Maia would never get teeth. Their cousin Zev, two month younger, has had four shiny little white teeth for several months now, and Lena's bottom teeth came in at around 6 months, if I remember correctly. C. and M. have done a pretty good job at gumming up their solid food, but still, was it going to take 14 months, like another baby I know, to get one little tooth? 

My fears were abated last week when Maia, without warning, popped out two little bottom teeth. And Clara, true to form (she's always a week or two behind Maia), has been teething this week, with one bottom tooth through and another possibly on it's way. Only took ten and a half months! 

Both girls have also starting clapping and waving bye-bye, which is very cute to watch.

Clara and Maia are growing up so fast. They are almost one year old. Only a month and a half to go and I need to start planning their party. It's a big milestone, for them, but more importantly I think, for us. We've almost made it through this incredibly challenging year. 

And the newest and most disruptive development in the Spirn household is Lena's new pastime, dumping out all the toys in her toy bins and stacking the bins. This is done several times a week, and requires quite a bit patience from Mom and Dad. See picture below. Clara and Maia also like to join in this fun. I can't even imagine what the next two years are going to be like!

Portraits of a Ballerina

Correction: Ground Control To Major Tom

I should clarify something from my last post. Maia did indeed start crawling back in January, and she has been moving ever since, but Clara didn't acquire this important and life changing new skill until this week. She is usually just a few weeks behind Maia with everything, but learning to crawl took her a bit longer, and now that she can move, a whole new world has opened up for her. Her little sister Maia is always off to the races, and now Clara can follow suit. She isn't very graceful, but she's got the mechanics down, and she is having a great time catching up with her sister. And did I mention they are both practically swimming in the bathtub!?

We are having a great time watching them grow. They have recently started playing, and of course fighting, with each other. It's pretty hilarious to see them quarrel over a toy. Usually it's Maia who snatches something from Clara. Most of the time Clara just starts crying, but we've seen her snatch back, and the look on Maia's face is priceless as she recovers from the surprise.

Our lovely Lenabel is in full princess mode, requiring us to dress her in tutus and sparkly gowns. Of course these always accessorize her jeans or sweat pants, which she insists on wearing underneath.