...and I have twins.
These may all sound like excuses for not posting anything for quite some time, but the truth is, they are also facts. I wish I had the time to post something new about Liam and Morgan every single day, but time won't let me.
For instance - this morning, Morgan refused to eat her breakfast unless I let her hold her pink elephant while dining. Every morning after Janne has gone to work, I have wake-up/diaper changing/breakfast duty with the kids, which is awesome. Our routine includes me carrying Liam and Morgan downstairs from their rooms together - about 46 pounds of joy for me every day - and this morning, Morgan refused to let go of her pink elephant (which accompanies her to dreamland in her crib every night) when I picked her up. I eventually had to hide it in the cupboard at a moment when she wasn't looking, so she'd at least temporarily forget about it.
The bigger news is, they're both taking steps now. What you and I would consider walking is now on the horizon, but each of them can take a few steps at a time now, and they both love the accomplishment.
Morgan has done almost every 'new' thing first.
Liam came into the world thirteen minutes before she did, and she's been making up for those thirteen minutes ever since. She rolled over first. She sat up first. She stood up with the assistance of the playpen first. She 'cruised' around the playpen first. When she was six months old, she was introduced to clapping. Actually, she put her hands together all on her own, and we exclaimed "Yay!"
Following that moment, and in a rather Pavlovian manner, whenever we say "Yay!", she claps her hands. It's always accompanied by her big, beautiful smile. Once, while we were watching an awards show on television, and the audience applauded, she spontaneously and happily clapped along with them.
Only recently - maybe three weeks ago, tops - Liam finally started clapping his hands. Now, if one of us doesn't say "Yay!" when he's clapping his hands, he's offended.
On top of this, Liam has had a landmark first. He stood up in the middle of the living room, unassisted.
First (meaning before Morgan).
In typical 'guy' fashion, once he was upright and standing in the middle of the floor, he applauded himself. It was a classic moment. You should have been there. I was there, but the camera was packed away. Sorry about that.
A friend of mine who used to work in our sales department wrote to me today, apologizing for not having told me sooner that he's a father of a wonderful young boy, born September 8/06. Congratulations, Peter and family! Welcome to the world, Cole.
I mentioned to Peter that every moment watching Liam and Morgan grow - and do new things almost every day - is like perpetually watching a really good fireworks display. (The accompanying ooh's and ahhh's, however, are infinitely more heartfelt.)
...which, in afterthought, is perfectly appropriate, because I met my lovely wife at a fireworks display about nine years ago.
Since I have no new pictures - due to the first few items I mentioned in this post - I instead present to you a shot of the babes when they were much, much smaller.
Morgan is up to a petite twenty-one and a half pounds.
Here, Sleeping Beauty is less than five pounds.
Liam. Check out that little hand!
He's now twenty-five and a half pounds. Here, he is also less than five.
It's awesome, and a little mind-blowing, to look back occasionally and see where we started.
I'm sure we'll be doing a lot of that for many years to come.
