Redi or Not....: She's walking!!!!

Callia officially walking

The girls are 15.5 months and getting so independent (almost). They want to do everything by themselves although when they do need help, they ask for it by raising one hand in the air (like asking the teacher for help). With both girls walking, it is both easier and more difficult for me. It is nice to not have to carry them both everywhere but now I have to make sure they don't go in opposite directions!

Callia is so proud of her new walking self. While she used to spend much of her time sitting and reading books, she now spends most of the day walking around! It is very fun to watch her be much more physical. She still loves her books though and now says, "Ga" for gorilla (Goodnight Gorilla is still her favorite book). Callie has been so incredibly loving these days. She sometimes just looks up at me, smiles and says "Mamamama". She also gives real kisses! I gave her a little lion beanie baby recently and she carries that around with her everywhere. She often looks at it, roars and gives him a kiss! So incredibly cute. She and Maia have a blast together and love to play peek-a-boo in their cardboard house. Callie has actually been saying "Ba" for "Boo" when she sees a picture of a ghost.

Maia is constantly busy and I am trying to find ways to nurture her active self! Honestly, she wears me out some days because she is always on the move. She climbs on top of and into everything as you can see by the pictures and is often trying to test the boundaries of things. If I say to her sister that playdough is not for her mouth, Maia immediately puts a piece in her own mouth and looks at me for a response. Luckily, I am on to her game and don't give that behavior too much attention by just redirecting her to another activity. She is very interested and proud to help Mommy and does "chores" like sweeps crumbs off the floor (more like re-distributes) and puts dirty clothes in the hamper at bath time. Maia is so silly and has the best belly laugh. She loves to be chased, tossed around and tickled. She just loves her sister and has recently created her own version of "sister" in sign language by placing her two pointer fingers to her cheeks. The actual sign is running your thumb down your jaw line and putting your two pointer fingers together. I thought this was pretty clever.

Now that Jason's big work project has wound down, we are really enjoying more time with him. The girls have been so excited to have Daddy take them outside to play and Maia sat mesmerized yesterday watching Daddy rake leaves. We took the girls for their first swim lesson today and it was so much fun! They LOVED the water and had smiles on their faces the whole time. It is such a nice activity for us to do as a family. Now we are gearing up for Halloween tonight and Jason and I have just completed our jack o'lanterns for our annual pumpkin carving contest. Will post pictures soon....