Colman is crawling

Colman can't wait til it is warm enough to play outside.

Colman likes to play with his crib toy instead of napping.

Colman has his game face on. Grrrr....

Colman is officially crawling today. Amazing what 24 hours can do in a baby's life. Yesterday, he would take a few strides and cry the whole time because it was too much work! But today, he and Chelsea were crawling all over the family room.

It has been a long month getting him down this road. He has been wanting to move since Christmas. He was slowly figuring out how to get from sitting to a crawling stance. Then he would flop on his belly and kick/flail. And eventually start whining because he was not getting any where. (Don't know where the line is from crying to whining, but my kids have definately crossed it.)

He loves when someone holds his hands to help him stand up and walk around the room. But who can do that all day? So whenever he would be sitting alone, he would get onto his hands and knees but drop on his belly. We would try to show him the movements of crawling by moving his arms and legs for him. He would just cry; he wanted to be walking. This slow process has lasted for a couple weeks.

Last week, he discovered he could go from his hands and knees to a sitting position. It was such a wonderful surprise to walk in and find him sitting up in his crib. Then this past Monday, as Carol was secretly video taping him playing in his crib, she caught him stand for the first time by himself. (I have been trying to figure out how to download a large MTS file onto the google website. I even tried to convert the file to an AVI file, but only the sound was converted. So due to technical difficulties, the video will be shown at a later date.)

There were so many times when he would be on his hands and knees and look like he was going to crawl and then flop on his belly. If someone was around, he would moan/cry because all he wanted was someone to help him up and walk. And he would smile as soon as he was standing. There has been a lot of whining over the last couple of weeks. So mom and dad are very happy that Colman can now crawl and feel independant.

We think he may try to walk soon. He likes to stand and not hold onto anything. But when he falls, he is a cryer so no rush there. For now, we will enjoy and celebrate his new found mobility.

Give Chelsea a hand

Last Friday, Chelsea had a monumental day. She figured out how to shake a rattle to intentionally make noise and clap! (It truly is the little things we take for granted but is so exciting when done by your babies for the first time.)

She picked up a little rattle from the toy box in the afternoon and just started shaking it. She moved it from hand to hand, shook it again and then she looked at Carol with a big grin. That is one of the best parts of parenthood - seeing their faces light up when they discover something new. She beams every time she shakes it.

Then on Friday night, while mom and dad were getting ready for the bedtime ritual and with the Baby Einstein DVD playing, Chelsea was by herself for a few seconds. Doug and Carol both walked into the room, to see Chelsea sitting on the floor. She looked up and started clapping her hands. It did not register what she was doing, at first she looked like she was waving her arms around. But then we realized she was clapping them. We were so excited. She did it a couple more times that night. She does not do it often, but we were able to catch it on camera. We hope to catch the rattling soon as well. Check it out:
www.google.com/s2/sharing/stuff?user=107614506122395768240

Season of Change

The kids are going through such major changes; they keep mom and dad on their toes. We are having to baby proof the place since Chelsea is crawling all over. It is anyone's guess when Colman will crawl, but that is ok. Having one kid to chase is good enough for now.

We have bought a giant playyard fence to keep them enclosed. Chelsea is not a big fan, but she will play contentedly in little spurts. Colman is ok, so long as he has a toy within his grasp or he is in the exersaucer. Chelsea will pull up on it and they will play with the same toys. When Chelsea wants to get out, she pulls herself up at the gate, stands there and cries. We have another gate at the kitchen/foyer entry which Chelsea enjoys pulling up on.

Colman is also probably around 20 lbs, so we have moved the kids into converter car seats. So long Graco Snug Ride and Double Snap'n'Go. They have served us well. After a lot of research, we got the Joovy Groove Double Umbrella stroller in lime green. However, since it is an umbrella stroller, we feel it may not have the stamina for walking around the neighborhood or the park, so we are looking into a double jogger stroller. We are leaning toward the Tike Tech Trax360. Any input would be appreciated.

We are also starting other baby proofing around the house. Electric outlet covers, stairway gates, cabinet locks, baby straight jackets. The list goes on.

New Years' Eve

The night of New Year's Eve 2008, we stretched the babies' schedule to the fullest extent. We normally feed them a bottle around 6pm and put them in bed. This time, we put them in their carseats and went out on the town. We went to 2 different parties and finally headed home at 11:30pm. When one kid was up, the other was asleep. They took turns throughout the night. And when the one child was up, they were so sweet and friendly. We are learning when we expect the worse, they are good and when we expect good behavior, they are crazy. They are already defiant!

Before the evening festivities, we took them to Sam's Warehouse. That is becoming everyone's favorite place to shop. They have buggies that will fit 2 kids and wide aisles, so little hands have less chance to grab stuff. We turn the buggie around and push from the front of the cart so that CnC can see where they are going. They love it. Sometimes, they even hold hands.

Lights, Camera, Action!

In an effort to make adding videos to share an easier process, I have started placing videos on the Google video cloud. (I think that is the techy word for internet based server/sharing...or I just made it up and it will become the new buzz word.)
I have not added too much yet. But will try to keep adding more. I do wish the quality were better. I use a 10 mp camera or a high def video camera. Not sure if it is too much info so Google shrinks it down or the internet does. This is a bit out of my realm. So while I still have my dignity, here is the link:

http://www.google.com/s2/sharing/stuff?user=107614506122395768240&hl=en

Christmas Fun 2008

Colman likes Old McDonald.

Dad shows how not to open a present.

Hats knitted by Grandparent's friend.

Grandpa anointing CnC with oatmeal.

Chelsea and Hadabujee enjoying a new toy.

Chelsea's new hair bows.

Chelsea looking at baby Jesus, while Colman eats Joseph.

Chelsea takes a stand

Chelsea stood up in her crib by herself today for the first time. She has been pulling herself up on anything that would support her - the exersaucer, a door, mom, dad. But today she figured out how to stand up in her crib. After her nap, when Carol went in to change Colman's diaper, Chelsea just popped up like she had done it a million times. She has had a lot of practice with the exersaucer. She has taken a few good falls and rarely cries. She's a tough cookie. She just pulls herself back up and delights in her accomplishment. It is more painful for mom and dad to watch than for her to experience. So we have taken down her crib mobile. It's symbolic of one more step away from babyhood for her. *sniffle*

She is also officially crawling on her hands and knees. She will take several strides. Although she will often revert to the army crawl since it is familiar and faster for her. She is a strong little girl that pulling her body weight by her arms would be easier than moving by her hands and knees.

Blogger won't let me dowload the crib video, but I have attached a few pictures. Maybe later for the video.