Stair Masters

Our apartment has three carpeted stairs from the hallway into the living area. The stairs are slightly steep, but they're nice and wide and the carpeting makes them perfect for learning to climb stairs. So we took down the "gate" (a bouncy chair on its side surrounded by about 30 pillows) at the bottom of the stairs and installed a legitimate gate in the hallway, opening the three stairs to Lola and Locke to learn the art of climbing. But the stairs have become the stage for more than just climbing lessons.

Kelly and I had unblocked the stairs before, from time to time, so Locke and Lola could crawl up to their baths in the evenings. We loved to watch their slow, simultaneous crawl attack. It's the same one they employ when Kelly sits on the floor with a plate of food. We call it the baby zombies because they're very focused and they crawl silently toward their goal like zombies stumbling toward their prey -- even though their speed makes it surprisingly easy for the prey to get away every time. But somehow, the movie zombies manage to succeed from time to time. It's easier to understand when two adorable babies are coming toward you but, if it were real zombies, I wouldn't just stand there screaming. I'd run! But, I digress.

The first day we opened up the stairs for them, I sat on the bottom stair and the babies scrambled past each other and me to get to the top. Going up was never the problem. It's coming down that's hard. Locke had the requisite amount of fear when contemplating his descent. He instinctively turned sideways, tentatively sticking his toes out and down, searching for the next lower stair. When his shaky little foot found it, he turned backwards, and brought his other foot down, lowering himself to the stair. It was amazing to watch. I could tell I wouldn't have to worry too much about Locke after a few days of learning.

Lola, on the other hand, seemed to lack any sort of fear of the stairs. She'd make her way to the top, turn around, and fling herself head-first toward me on the bottom stair, giggling as I caught her. This was going to take some time.

After several days of me turning her around to show her how to descend backwards, and her getting frustrated and refusing to come down at all, she's begun to show progress. She now turns herself around to come down, only she does it a full yard or so from the top stair so she has to inch backwards for quite a while before finding the edge. But that's OK. She's being careful. I like that.

During our days on the stairs, several other small breakthroughs have happened. Locke has learned to share. Oh, not with his sister just yet, but he'll give Mommy his toys and other random objects. I'll enjoy them for a moment, thanking Locke, and then hand them back usually. His face really lights up. It's just another little growing phase that makes a mom proud.

And Lola's walking has progressed. She can take more steps and pause in between them. It won't be much longer until she's on two feet exclusively. Now, if she'll just stop trying to walk down the stairs.

One Giant Step

Lola just learned to crawl about 6 weeks ago, when she was barely 9 months old. Until then she seemed quite content to let Locke do all the leg work. He'd been crawling for 3 months at that point so maybe she just thought that was something boys did. She just didn't seem too interested.

All of the sudden she began to get up on her knees, rocking back and forth, and trying to move. It didn't take long, once she started learning. One day she simply decided she wanted a toy that was a little out of reach. She took her first crawling steps to it.

It was a huge step, and one that excited her mommy a lot. But evidently, that wasn't quite the milestone she was looking for. After all, Locke had been doing that forever! So she immediately began pulling herself to a stand and letting go, balancing for longer and longer periods of time.

In the past 3 weeks, she's been attempting steps. She'll balance, concentrate on her finish line (usually Mommy, ready with open arms out to catch her), and then she'll take a step (sometimes two!) as she leans forward, toppling into me. It's a game we've been playing a lot lately.

Now, she's finally got it. She took 6 steps yesterday! She practices walking toward me still, but now she'll also aim at a pile of pillows, or a stationary object that's close by (like the big musical felt block Martin and Joy gave them), or her brother (who's not quite as comfy when she falls into him).

Hopefully Locke will continue to develop his interest in the two-legged variety of mobility. I'm trying to praise Lola's accomplishments while giving Locke plenty of attention and praise on his accomplishments too. But I know he can sense the excitement that Lola's walking has created. I'm hoping the attention will be a motivating factor for him. But, then again, once they both start walking, I'm in real trouble! I think I'll just enjoy each day as it comes, and be thankful that Locke is happy on all fours for now.

March Pics

Twinspeak?

I've always heard about twins developing their own language, an exclusive way of communicating between each other. I thought it was more common with identical twins, but every day Locke and Lola communicate more and more. It began with Locke crawling up to Lola (who wasn't mobile at the time) and taking her toy. Then it evolved into voluntarily playing near each other, becoming aware that the other baby is a separate person who makes its own decisions, and is usually holding a more desirable toys at any given time. But now, they babble, laugh and play together quite often. They genuinely seem to enjoy each other's company.

Locke's goal in life these days (besides testing every boundary he encounters) is to make Lola giggle. He chases her around the living room laughing, sticking out his tongue, and doing the "Lockey dance" (which involves bouncing up and down while kneeling and playing the air drums). It seems to work most of the time. She'll take time away from practicing standing to crawl around giggling with Locke fast on her heels.

Recently I was sitting nearby opening mail when, out of the corner of my eye, I caught Locke crawl over to Lola and he appeared to whisper something in her ear. Then, they both crawled over to my little stack of mail and began playing with the catalogs. I'm not sure if he really communicated a plan to her -- or if the whole sequence of events was purely coincidental (probably). But they seemed to be in sync on their little attack. It makes me wonder what the future will bring. Maybe they won't fully develop a language they exclusively share but, as long as they keep communicating, there should be very few dull moments.

Thanks, Mimi

Kelly was out of town last week on business and his mom, a.k.a. Mimi, came to town to give me a hand with the twins. She was a lifesaver.

Whenever Kelly goes out of town, I always get a little tense. Not that I'm afraid to be alone with Locke and Lola. They've got to be the easiest twin babies to take care of, and I love every minute we spend together. They're happy and smart and funny, and they play together a lot so they don't have to be constantly entertained. If anything, they entertain me more than the reverse. But since we moved here 6 months ago, I haven't really met many people -- especially not a lot of new moms. So I don't have much adult contact and conversation when Kelly's gone (unless you count the silly question and answer sessions from strangers as we stroll -- "Are they twins?" "Yep." "A boy and a girl?" "Yep." "Are they identical?" Pause to decide whether to be mean or not. "Nope."). And a few days of that is fine, but more than that and my sanity threatens to take a vacation.

So Mimi came to the rescue. It's always great when Mimi comes to visit because she has worked for years in education and she knows how to create a positive, fun and creative environment for the babies. Plus she's madly in love with Locke and Lola and she takes care of them like only a grandmother could.

It was a great week. Lola and Locke got tons of extra attention, I got to spend time with one of my favorite people, and I got to exercise 3 times! Plus, she sent me out for a pedicure. How sweet is that?

I know my parents would have loved to come to my rescue but they're going to be hosting the whole family for an extended visit next month so they'll have plenty of time to shower Locke and Lola with attention and to send me out for pedicures. Thank you in advance, Mom and Dad.

Anyway, thanks, Mimi, for a very nice week. Lola and Locke miss you already.