12 Months - walking and climbing....

We are on to great adventures with our very mobile one year olds. Callia has been "practice" walking with us and wanting to stand and climb much more than ever! Maia has started walking and between that and climbing onto everything, she is a very busy girl. One of their favorite things to do is climb on these soft block structures that their Grandma and Granddad got for them. They are also very interested in climbing onto the couch and we are really emphasizing the "feet first method" of getting down. Maia has also felt very comfortable diving into new physical skills head first and figuring it out pretty quickly. Callia's style of learning is one where she likes to observe for awhile before she tries something new. But then she does it very well.

The girls are very interested in being around each other most of the time, even if they are not playing with the same toy. When Maia wakes from her nap and Callia is still sleeping, Maia often points to the monitor motioning for Callia. The other day, our babysitter Jenna and I took them to a spray park down the road from us. At one point, Maia and Callia actually embraced and I have never seen them do that before! They love new experiences and adventures but especially interactions with people. We have the most wonderful neighbors who stop and say hello while we are playing outside and if Maia sees them out the window from inside the house, she points and gets very excited.

Callie and her sweet smile...

Callia still loves her books but has become a bit more interested in climbing and playing with blocks. She is signing "more", "all done" and makes a clicking sound when asked what sound does a clock make. She loves to be praised for anything but does not like to be encouraged too much (hence, switching from bottle to cup is not really working with her at the moment). She is great at anticipating things in songs and books by either making a happy sound or doing a hand gesture. Her smile still brightens my day and she is a very happy little girl. I love watching her study things from books to toys to blades of grass, she will turn them over and study every angle.

Callie and her books

Maia continues to bring us much laughter. She can be very vocal about her needs (and right now it is mostly for Mommy) but she is also so animated without trying to be. She has a great belly laugh that one can produce by doing pretty much any sort of tossing, tumbling or tickling. Maia's favorite thing to do right now besides walking is climbing. She likes to sit on the back of our couch and attempt to climb various pieces of furniture. I found her today (as I was in the kitchen for a minute making their breakfast) sitting on top of a music table in the soup bowl (can only be believed with a picture-see below). More objects of great interest to Maia right now are transportation vehicles. She likes to roll trucks or cars around giving various things a ride, such as blocks or her baby doll. As much as Maia needs to be physical, she is also a very loving little girl. She likes to give her baby some "love" by holding her and rocking from side to side. She also does this for other stuffed animals and a plastic giraffe that one can insert balls into. She does not discriminate. She also likes to give "love" to her sister by thunking her head down on Callia's. It is very sweet to see, albeit a bit ungraceful.

"What? I didn't do anything?"

We recently had a really fun visit with my brother, "Uncle Mark" and my dad, "Two Papas". We haven't been brave enough to fly with the girls yet so we haven't seen my brother and his family in a year. It is really hard being away from them, especially for so long so we were thrilled to see Mark while he was in town helping our dad move to VT. The girls loved him and were so happy to spend time with Uncle Mark and Two Papas.

Maia walking....

Callia climbing

A fun visit with Uncle Mark from Tucson, AZ

Grandpa Roberts (aka. Two Papas) and his granddaughters

Maia giving her baby some "love"

Happy 1st Birthday, Maia & Callia!

Callia & Maia relaxing on their "big girl chairs" in the aftermath of the birthday celebration


The girls' special butterfly birthday cakes

It has been an incredible year and Jason and I feel so lucky to have spent it with our two incredible daughters. They have made so many changes and continue to bring us so much joy and laughter. We had a huge 1st birthday celebration in our backyard and the girls had a great time! They loved seeing so many of their favorite people and playing with some of their young friends and cousins. It was a "bug" themed party and the kids got to eat "Crazy Bug" mac & cheese and cupcakes in the shape of a caterpillar and a butterfly.



Callia is doing so well...still incredibly sweet and happy. Still reading her books although now when she sits down to look at them, she does what we call "speed reading" by flipping the pages very fast! She is signing "more" and doing the hand motions to "Itsy Bitsy Spider". She has become more physical and keeps right up with her sister. They love crawling through tunnels to find friends or each other. Both girls are pointing at everything lately and trying to communicate what they want to us. It will be fun when they start talking to hear their little voices.

Maia is forever making us laugh. She makes the most funny faces and is communicating very well using gestures. She used to make a caveman grunt for "yes" when we asked her a question but I taught her to nod her head instead. She basically nods using her whole body...so cute. She is standing up on her own, very often and has taken about 5 steps at most before realizing what she is doing and then she falls. Walking will come very soon, I think. Maia's new favorite thing to do is "beep" Daddy or Mommy's nose (Daddy taught her that). She also points to her belly button when asked.

We have started putting Callia and Maia to sleep in their room at the same time and they seem to like it better than going to bed separately. Sometimes we hear them "talking" to each other but there is hardly any crying. Both girls are calling me "Mama" now which I just love!

The girls adore their daddy and give him quite the reception when he gets home from work. This morning they both blew him kisses and it was the first time Callia had ever done that!

More birthday pics:

Maia eating her first cake

Daddy & Callia attempting the birthday hat...not so much

Mommy & Maia

Maia posing for the camera

playing with water toys

First Father's Day

Since this was Jason's first Father's Day, the girls and I decided to take him out for a nice brunch. Callia and Maia were so happy to be somewhere other than our house since we have had all of this cool, rainy weather. They were so charming and friendly with the waitstaff and other customers that we decided we should let them out of the house more often :)

Maia & Callia made Daddy a shirt with their hand prints. It says, "Dad 2 (squared)".

They love their Daddy!

11 Months and cruising....

Playing next to each other

Maia practicing with her "walker"

A visit with Grandma and Granddad in June

Fun with Grandma

Maia and her faces....

Callie enjoying the outdoors



It is hard to believe that the girls are just about 11 months old. At this time last year, I was admitted into the hospital and put on bedrest. It amazes me that so much time has passed and that our little "preemies" are happy, healthy girls approaching one year and toddlerhood.

Callia finds happiness in so many things, but most especially people. She loves to hug everyone and makes her happy "Ahhhhh" sound when people give her attention. She is eating very well and loves peas the most....well really any kind of fruit. But peas are on the top of her list. The girls are eating all finger foods now and are too "grown-up" for baby food. Callia is now signing "more" and loves to do "touchdown", raising her hands in the air. She has really become much more assertive with Maia taking her toys and has a grip of steel if anyone tries to take something from her. She is cruising down the couch now and stood on her own one time. But like crawling, I do not think she is in any rush to walk and that is fine by me.

Maia is constantly on the move. She loves exploring and finding things she shouldn't get into (grass, bubbles, scissors, wires, etc). She is very animated and has these hysterical faces. We think she is going to keep us on our toes as her parents! She is a great eater and basically uses both hands to feed herself now. She has started babbling - mostly saying, "baba" and "dada". But the funniest thing is her trying to communicate "yes" to us. If we ask her a question, she will grunt to answer yes, so we call it her "caveman grunt". Maia is practicing walking with her walker...started doing it the first time we introduced it. She stands by herself sometimes and took her first solo step (albeit very wobbly) the other morning.

Jason and I are doing well. We are getting ready for a trip to the beach with the girls soon and then their 1st birthday celebration. Busy summer so far! Can't wait to spend more days out at the local parks!

10 Months and crawling....

My First
Mother's Day

Maia sitting on Callia's lap watching a few minutes of Baby Einstein

Callia: "Go Red Sox!"

Mommy & Maia

Maia "watching" her first Red Sox game with Daddy

It is so hard to believe the girls are already 10 months old. They are keeping us very busy now that both are crawling and pulling themselves up to stand! Maia has figured out how to get herself down from standing on one knee and Callia still needs assistance. They follow each other around the room now very interested in what the other is doing.

Well, I know most parents talk about how brilliant their kids are but Callia and Maia really are! :) Callie is still babbling but more focused on her new found physical skills. She can now clap her hands and raise her hands up when you say "Touchdown!" It's adorable the way she and Maia will do it at the same time. Callia has become more assertive with the toys she has and has started taking them back from Maia. She still enjoys seeing people and reading lots of books.

Maia has started using sign language and vocal sounds to communicate with us. When I ask if she would like more of something she either makes a happy little coo or does the sign for "more" (putting the tips of her fingers together). She also does things like put her foot out for me to put a sock on it or hold her hand out when she sees the nail clipper. Maia has this new fake cry that is so funny...very hard to describe but one night she did it at dinner and Jason and I laughed at her. She looked at us and actually started to really cry complete with "the lip" (for anyone who has ever seen her do that). The girls entertain us daily and we are so thankful to have them!

Here comes the Sun...

Basking in the sunlight

We have enjoyed beautiful weather over the past few days and have been taking full advantage of getting outside! One of our favorite things is just hanging out on a blanket in our front yard with some toys, books and bubbles! Sometimes our neighbors will stop over to say hi and we love seeing everyone. There are 12 kids on our street (with another on it's way) and among them are 4 mth old twin girls! Who would have imagined two sets of twin girls on the same little street?

Callia playing ball

Maia, wondering what to do next

Callia taking out a book to "read"

Maia, discovering new places to hide

Happy Spring!

Maia and Callia with Easter Bunnies

Maia's first swing ride

Callia's first swing ride

We are so happy that Spring is slowly creeping in. It has been such a long Winter to be inside and our living room is not so entertaining any more. We have been able to get out for some long walks lately - especially helpful since we are having some construction on our house and naptime is easier when we are out walking.

Callia is very close to rolling. She is schooching backwards and twisting more. I can imagine she is a bit frustrated seeing her sister moving all around. She really loves to sit in front of their book basket and pull out a bunch of books, sometimes opening them up to look at the pictures. It amazes me how much they both love stories at just about 9 months old! There are certain books that Callia responds to like "The Very Hungry Caterpillar"; she smiles and laughs at the end when he turns into a "beautiful butterfly". She also "smells" flowers in books and smelled a real one out in our garden the other day! Her smile still brightens my day and I have been calling her "Sunny". Both she and Maia are trying all kinds of new foods and Maia tends to love everything, Callia not so much. But we keep trying. They are both picking up Cheerios now so we are starting some finger foods. Can't wait until they can feed themselves!

Maia is crawling everywhere now and is trying to pull up to stand! She loves to find the toy baskets and tip them over so she can help herself. She also got her first tooth last week and is using it to bite down on the rubber tipped spoon when I feed her. She continues to make us laugh without trying by just making goofy faces. She laughs when she is tossed into the air, upside down or moved in any way. She likes to do downward facing dog (yoga pose) and we are practicing forward rolls (prepping for the Olympics someday). One cute thing Maia does now is she gathers all three of the "lovies" (small blanket animals) at bedtime to snuggle with. We usually just give her one and the others are in the corners but she now reaches out to get them to go to sleep!

Jason and I are doing well and excited for Spring. I look forward to getting out into my garden and Jason can't wait to start mowing the lawn again (ha ha). We are about to celebrate our 4th wedding anniversary in a few weeks and have planned a night out in Boston while our fabulous babysitter, Jenna stays with the girls. Have I mentioned how much we LOVE Jenna? I feel so lucky to have found her as she does so much to help us and takes incredible care of the girls. They truly adore her, as do we.

Happy Springtime to all!

Callia with her new BFF, Elmo

Maia practicing guitar with Daddy