Rock Chalk, Baby Talk

11 Months and counting. Girls continue to do great; walking, as previously mentioned, has been almost completely mastered, and both girls continue to add to their repertoire of tricks as well. Included so far are "wave bye bye", "fishy face", and the ever popular "blow kisses", though it's just the kissy noise and not the hand motion so far (but we're working on it).



Random picture of the girls in cute outfits that Jenn really likes. This may be the last "girls sitting in the pink recliner" picture that has so far been a staple of their portfolio for a while, as getting them to sit still for the picture was almost impossible. Little girls have minds of their own now, and they are not going to put up with any shenanigans from mommy and daddy, thank you very much.

The way they play with things has noticeably improved as well. One thing in particular they have learned is to "make" their own rattle, by taking a small toy like a block, and putting it in something bigger, like a hollow block or cup, then walking around shaking it. I even caught Megan doing this on her own, unprompted, the other day, only to then witness Kayla start searching for her block/cup. It's almost like a big, black monolith appeared briefly in the living room one day when I wasn't looking.



Also improving greatly is their vocabulary, such as it is. They both have known "ma-ma" and "da-da" for a while, though it is a title the dog has shared as much as mommy and daddy have for the most part. "Ba-ba" has also been quite popular, but again, describing pretty much everything from the TV to the geopolitical climate of Italy. New sounds are starting to show up however, "sh" and several others I could not hope to reproduce in print.





Girls eating habits are also changing. Both, but in particular Megan, are definitely wanting to start feeding themselves, so we are slowly moving away from baby food to "people food". Many things like shredded cheese and Cheerios have already been on the menu for a while, but lately they have been able to easily handle peas and diced carrots (without needing them cut/mushed up), dried fruit bits, small pieces of meatloaf, pieces of cereal bars, and even some of mommy's birthday cake last night. Much to Loki's delight, of course.

Big adventures this weekend, not so much for babies but for mommy and daddy. A brief run-down:

- Friday evening, met James and Tricia at Sumo for celebration of Jenn's birthday, and to partake in our new favorite past-time, "Tell James Horror Stories of Parenthood". Grandma Ruth was kind enough to babysit, with the help of one of the neighbor girls, who will undoubtedly be called upon for this task many times in the years to come.

- Saturday, myself, Mom and Dad went to the KU/Duke football game, while Jenn met up with Linda and Aunt's Kathy, Barb, and Paula for a craft fair in...Hillsboro? Marion? One of those two I think. Grandma Ruth was once again nice enough to watch the girls, along with Aunt Karen I believe. Long, hot days for both mommy and daddy.

After the game Granny and Grandpa Vogts stuck around for pizza, to see the girls for a while, and just generally help make our lives easier for the evening.





That's all for now, bye bye!