Walking, teething, clinging....

I love my girls so much! They are non-stop. Nico can walk through rooms, and today Lena decided she was just going to walk--two steps, fall, right back up, four steps, fall, right back up, repeat. Repeat, repeat, repeat. She is signing so much. They are both doing so much, and I guess it is affecting their sleep and also how much they need me during the day. I have to say that I am pretty exhausted. Plus Nico and I both got food poisoning (I guess) Wednesday--up all night with fever and chills and cramps. Then Lena threw up on the train on the way home from the Children's Museum tonight, but I think that was just exhaustion.

We're trying some new things sleep-wise. I'm going to start to feed them dinner before Chris gets home. We're keeping the lights off upstairs, and I found a lullaby CD from Grandma D today that is really nice. (Of course the CD player in our bedroom seems to be broken. And our microwave broke yesterday. Is Mercury retrograde?) I'm gong to start implementing more techniques from the No Cry Sleep Solution soon (which Chris finally read, and he actually said, "Not that we're getting them out of our bed"--didn't you, honey?). Next we just need the cash for a king-sized organic mattress. My main goal is for them eventually to sleep a few hours in the evening without me. Then maybe I could write.


New things:

• (This is more me, but...) It was in the 50s today, and I carried both girls to the library to pick up the pass to the Children's Museum. And we've walked to pick up Daddy from the T every warm night.
• Nico and Lena are kissing each other; it's adorable! Nico gave Lena kisses on the head when she was tired out at the Museum tonight, and Lena has been kissing me each morning this week.
• Obviously we went to the Children's Museum today. It was our second time, but the first time the girls and I went by ourselves. We got there at about 4, and Daddy met us at 5.30. I think it was a little too much, though they certainly enjoyed it at first. We will do it again in a few weeks. Friday nights after 5 it's only a dollar! (It got pretty crowded then.)
• The girls were taking one nap for a while, but today they napped at 9.40 and again at 1.40! They been needing two naps quite a few days (me too!). That's what they were doing at 9 months. Laura said she read somewhere that when babies are first walking, the become as clingy as they were as newborns. That's really helped me. They're doing so much; it must be so overwhelming for them.
• Nico signed "hurt."
• Lena is signing really consistently. I know she's signed some new stuff ("hungry"), but I can't think of it all right now.
• They like playing with their toy cars and the new little couch I got them at Target.
• We went on ots of 30-45 minute walks this week--so glad the girls will still stay in the stroller! I'll miss it when it snows ten feet next week!
• I've been able to get up for 15-30 minutes during their naps some days. It's kinda nice, but definitely not happening every day.
• They eat peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, are addicted to blueberries again after a month off, and love trying to use their forks with their mac and cheese.
• The girls both started saying dog last week.
  

Can you tell I've had no time in forever? Too much to say. Ah, this little respite is giving me just the space I need to get a little perspective about how truly incredible my little ladies are. We went out to dinner with Grandma M when they were exhausted Tuesday night, and they were such troopers. They loved the lights, and everybody loved them and commented on how good they were. I guess I don't appreciate because I'm always with them, you know?