5 Month Birthday

Wishing a happy 5 month birthday to my two amazing babies. For the last 10 months they have been my biggest support and the reason I wake up every morning to face the day. I wish more than anything that Tim were here with me to see the progress they are making and the little people they are becoming.

Ayla & Anson have had a lot of "milestones" in the last month.

Eating:
The kids started on cereal this month. We tried both rice cereal and baby oatmeal. Neither were a huge hit, and after tasting them both I think I can tell you why. Yuck! I am excited to get to start preparing them vegetables soon - then the food appreciation will begin.

Interaction:
Although Ayla has always been pretty interested in Anson, this month the love has become mutual. They will reach out to touch each other and roll to "play" together. When they see each other, their little faces light up and they even sit in their Bumbo chairs and "talk" to each other. This causes me to wonder about something I have heard of: Twinspeak, where twins develop their own language to communicate privately. I just hope they are saying nice things about their Mommy.

Laughing:
Both kids will get a kick out of certain words and cause them to giggle uncontrollably when I say them. For Ayla it has been "jeggings" and "flower". For Anson it was "Mama". They both have adorable laughs and when they get going you can't help but be laughing right along with them.

Talking:
Another surprise this month was that Anson decided to start saying "Mama". (It is usually more like "Ahmama".) With Ayla being more of a storyteller, I always thought she would utter a word before him, but Anson just had to prove me wrong. He says it pretty consistently now and has even learned that crying "Mama!" will get him attention quicker than a cry when he wakes up from a nap.

Swimming:
I took the kids to my parent's house for their first swim. At the suggestion of a friend, we tried out a special flotation device and both Anson & Ayla loved the water. Ayla liked how sparkly it was and was fascinated with looking at the ripples. Anson had a great time relaxing in his float and splashing. I want to get them to feel secure when I am with them in the water so that they will not be intimidated by swim lessons in the future. This is something very important to us living in Arizona where water is a pleasure and a danger that lurks in so many back yard pools.