A Memorable Day

Today, the girls were continuing their practice standing. When one daughter looked her Daddy in the eye as he sat a couple feet away in the playpen, reached out a hand for his and, without hesitation, took a few hesitant steps, and then more. Her face beamed with excitement. Daddy was speechless. And she did not want to stop. Daddy rose to his feet. She kept her hand in his, lightly, barely, and there she was, walking with her father back and forth across the pen, one little foot after the other. Then Daddy noticed her sister watching, her face full of curiosity, her smile wide. She wanted to try too, and without leaning on anything, she rose to her feet and held out her hands to Daddy as her sister sat down for a rest. Now her hands were in Daddy's, and she took her turn, and soon, there they were, both of them, stepping forward, and they didn't want to stop: when one was walking with her hand (or hands) in her Daddy's, the other was rising to her feet, waiting for her turn. Back and forth they went, one after the other, journey after journey, and sometimes together, one hand in each of Dad's, all three of them walking together. Their Dad was shaking his head in disbelief, calling for their Momma. She knew something was up. She entered the room wondering what...and there were her daughters walking with their Daddy.

Exclamations.

Then, just an hour later, Mom reached into one of the girl's mouths and found it: her first tooth! That explains the last week of rough sleeping.

That explains why we will always remember this Memorial Day.

Two by Two

As the girls move toward their 14th month, they are standing at every opportunity; moving quicker and quicker along stationary objects, mostly the fence of their playpen, especially during their new favorite game, "smack down" with Dad; and convincing us that they'll be walking, maybe even dancing, by summer's end. So as Memorial Day Weekend unfolds, we offer a retrospective on the girls' move from the prone position, to sitting, to feeding themselves, to crawling (including all over each other). Enjoy. (Once you get to the Picasa folder via that hyperlink, try the slideshow button.)

Soon these are likely to seem the girls' quiet days of yesteryear....

Height, Weight and Jive

Monday's well-baby doctor's visit report: all excellent, featuring this news: Rory is now 30 inches tall (that's 2 1/2 feet in the scouting charts) and 20 lbs. and 6 ounces. Danni is 29 inches and 18 lbs. and 10 ounces (and gaining fast). Nice head sizes too, the doc says, which, sorry, is no surprise in this family.

Meanwhile, we were glad to have our friend Jordan in town this weekend. She's a professional photographer, and sent us these lovely shots. Enjoy.

The big motor-skill news: the girls are dancing now. Put on a little music and watch them jive, Rory bopping her head and torso up and down and Danni raising her elbows along her sides, like she was ready for some country shucking, and swinging them. Watch out Dancing with the Stars....