It's hard to describe the time warp that has been that last 11 months. If Carli were to make an attempt, it would sound something like, "bwee bwee, bway bway. Eh-niy-niy. Boo." Joseph prefers to be quoted on "veh veh veh, dote, dote, buh buh BOP". (note: at the time of publishing, Carli has graduated from single syllables to multi-toned warbling)
We are discovering new ways in which two very small people can make very large changes each day. Carli has realized that the kitchen is far more interesting than the playroom; nothing new there, but the hilarity of Carli talking to her reflection in the oven window is. Joseph has unleashed his inner yoga guru. While we have no idea what the positions are called, we are sure that he is learning to build strength in contorting ways that are making us envious. One minute he's sitting and playing with his musical instruments, the next he's on his hands, one leg out to the side, the other in lotus, looking simultaneously petrified and thrilled.
Interestingly, as parents (albeit rookies), there are some things we have grown accustomed to. We expect that silly songs will make them laugh; we do not expect things like mom flossing to send Carli into a tizzy. (Future dentist, maybe?) We expect Joseph to laugh when we blow bubbles at bathtime, we do not expect the accidental scratching of nails on his bath seat to cause an eruption of guffaws. But as we were told, the least expected events are treasures.
Also enjoyable (for now) is the mimicry. Now that Carli's a seasoned "quacker", she likes to mimic mom and dad as follows: Joseph is usually soothed by a song whose chorus is a series of quacks- with gratitude to Raffi- and we therefore sing it to him when a sudden outburst occurs. One morning, Joseph was crying in his crib, and before we got to him we heard Carli quacking to him much like her parental units do. Even funnier was that it did the trick.
Of special note is the early morning comedy hour- assuming they're laughing and mom and dad, Carli and Joseph are taking advantage of their crib time (and we're taking advantage of our monitors, heaven help us when they finally figure out that we can hear them) to laugh back and forth. They laugh, we laugh, the whole house snickers, and somewhere a neighbor thinks it's time to call the state mental health officials.
And a round of applause as now brother and sister hold their own bottles... and an exasperated sigh of relief from mom and dad.
As always, we love having you share our awesome family moments. Now we have to warm up our pipes in preparation to sing Happy Birthday.
