Movin' and Shakin'

It seems like it was only a little while ago that we wondered if JJ would ever figure out crawling, and if Alexis would ever be interested in moving at all. But in only a few short weeks they both became quite adept at getting around and, subsequently, getting into things.  It's a really great stage--they're both pretty quick at crawling and cruising and can even stand alone for a millisecond or two, but they're still timid enough not to venture where they can't see me or another adult.  So we can get a lot done while they're awake--they just follow us into the kitchen, living room, or office and play around while we clean or work.  They also like to follow each other around.  We sometimes think they must each have a scent the other follows, because if one meanders his/her way around the room, the other follows a few seconds later in the exact same trajectory.  We're glad that they seem to want to be near each other--they're so interactive... they chase each other, they laugh at each other, and of course they pull each others' hair and poke each other's eyes.  But they rarely cry out when they're doing it.  Maybe they just figure it's par for the course of being a twin.  They were prodded in-utero, so they got used to it early.  They still take each other's toys (or pacifiers), but have yet to get really upset about the game of musical toys. They have play dates most weeks, and really enjoy seeing new toys and watching other kids (both slightly older and younger).  We're hoping they'll learn to share early through those outings.

Alexis has turned into quite the dancer... when there's music on, she'll often dance, squatting up and down rapidly.  JJ is doing this hilarious gesture where he laughs with his mouth closed and puts his hands up as though he's shrugging "I don't know"  (We have yet to catch that on camera, but we're trying daily).  Alexis has also started jumping in her crib.  She does it to wind down for her naps and when she wakes up.  She even catches some air sometimes.  JJ really likes to climb up the stairs now, but is still timid enough not to do it unless there's an adult right behind him.  Alexis just wants to be walked around--though we're trying not to encourage walking too soon since, as mentioned, we really like this stage and are hoping it will last another month or so.  It is amazing to us how quickly their motor skills progress once they get going.

We also are marveling at how verbal they both are.  They babble away to each other constantly--we're pretty sure they're developing their own twin language. When they're trying to get our attention, however, they resort to yelling out or saying "ma ma" or "da da."  We're not sure if they mean it or not yet.  They also are eating almost all table foods now (not necessarily our preference), but since they don't like being spoon-fed, they munch on crackers, fruit, vegetables, toast, waffles, pasta, cheese and most recently, pizza.  It's nice to be able to pile their trays full and let them have at it, but it is still frustrating to realize how little they actually consume (so they're still getting a lot in their bottles). 

Christmas was a lot of fun--JJ and Alexis didn't really care about the presents, but enjoyed eating the wrapping paper.  Alechia's sister and BIL came out for the week and had more than their share of bathing the babies, which we greatly appreciated!

As usual, we've uploaded more pics and videos to dropshots!