They understand me though. Way better than even I suspect. Today I told Sebastian to put his cracker on the table and he did. Just like that! And Nicholas can pick out various pictures of fruits in a book when I name them. All of this in French. English is not their forte. They don’t understand basic stuff like “come here”, “gimme a kiss” or “sit” in English. They DO understand in French, though.

Which brings me to the words that the boys DO know how to say. First there’s “hi”. We hear that A LOT. And there’s “bye” which is tragically mispronounced “die”. There’s “dada” which is so overused that we can’t tell if they really know what or who “dada” really is (everything they point to is “dada”). Nicholas has uttered a couple of “mama”s here and there but I’ve not determined whether he really means it or it’s just gibberish.

And then there’s the most recent development from Sebastian. Apparently, he listens to his mama… even when she’s not speaking to him.

Now, when Goose walks by, Sebastian says “sit” or “stay”… a couple dozen times. Kinda like Mama does. He is completely oblivious to what the words mean but he knows that those words are the words you speak when speaking to Goose.

So there ya go. So much for speaking French to them every waking moment.

Apparently, they’ll soon be fluent in Dog.

And in case you want more: here ya go.

I’d like to post something meaningful but I’ve gotta run to wine country with some friends for the day! Priorities, priorities.

I’ll try to write something more substantial later this week but, in the meantime, I give you this little snippet of life from a few days ago:

Worth noting: the boys aren’t really speaking yet. They’re a bit behind schedule compared to the norm but a lot of twins are so we’re not worried. As it stands, everything is “dada”. Dada is “dada”, Sarah is “dada”, Goose is “dada”, Sebastian is Nicholas’ “dada” and Nicholas is “dada” to Sebastian. Mama is no one. Oddly, they don’t call me “dada”. They don’t call me anything, actually. BUT, they say “hi” to me. First it was just Sebastian but now Nicholas says it too.

The manner in which they say “hi” is adorable. They’ve appropriated my over-enthusiastic, sing-songy tone and made it their own. The result is a very high pitched, drawn out, breathy “hiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii” which can’t be adequately described in words. I will try to video tape it for you all to see.

Stay tuned…

I thought, at best, I would nurse my boys until they were 6 months. If I was lucky. If I was lucky enough to have babies who made it easy for me. Babies who took to breastfeeding easily. Not like the sad stories I read on all those website when I was pregnant and scared witless. Not like those women who virtually cried on-screen describing how, no matter what they tried, their babies wouldn’t latch on. Or they couldn’t produce enough milk. Or it was too painful. Or they hated it.

Well, my babies latched on right away. From day one, literally. And they made it easy. It took a little while to gain my footing but I did. And I never looked back.

The boys are almost 17 months old now. I’ve nursed them all this time. Granted, it’s only once a day at this point – before bed – but that’s all they really want.

Somehow, for many reasons and none at all, it seems like it’s time to quit. The reasons that I can articulate in my mind are not worth sharing here. They’re banal and trite. So are the reasons for NOT quitting, actually. I guess it’s just a feeling. It’s just a feeling that the Mama who breastfed her little babies has to move on like they’ve moved on. They’re walking, almost talking and it just seems like we’re moving into a whole other ballgame.

Soon enough, we’ll start looking at pre-schools. We’ll be looking at weaning them from full days at home. Like I said, it’s a whole other ballgame.

I’m melancholy about it. I’m not entirely happy to move on… but that’s me, not them. I’ve had this purpose for the last 16 months. A purpose that was easily defined and could only be fulfilled by me. I’m sad to let that go. Such a clear and definite purpose in life is not easy to find.

I guess it’s a good thing I’m too busy to think about it too much.

Sebastian’s hair.

Alas, his baby duck down has grown and grown and grown. What was once a giddy porcupine became a floppy mop. And finally, it just fell. It fell into his eyes.

So, Superbowl Sunday we got down to business. I got some shiny new shears and Dada wrangled the little monkey onto his lap for the symbolic first haircut.

Pre-chopchop:

Post-chopchop:

There’s no doubt that he is a full fledged toddler now.

And, in case you’re wondering, Nicholas is still holding fast to his hair. I think he’s got several more weeks before the big chop, chop.

Their first pair of real shoes. Shoes that go outside. Shoes that can walk on wet ground. Shoes you can kick stuff with. Big boy shoes.

Papa brought them to the nearby high school field (with artificial turf) so they could take their new clodhoppers out for a whirl. I think they’re getting the hang of it.

I’m not sure why 15 months seems significant, but it does. Maybe it’s just the fact they have one of their well-baby (well, baby, how ya doin’?) checkups. And they get a bunch of shots. Three, to be precise. Three shots in their tiny, albeit chubby, little thighs. Surely that’s worthy of marking a milestone… a milestone of sad baby INJUSTICE!

Ah, but wait… here’s the milestone! Baby? Baby NO MORE. These boys, as much as I don’t want to admit it, are now toddlers. They are not infants. They are not babies. They are stompin’, rompin’, scenery-chewin’ TODDLERS.

The play pen, which has been a true lifesaver, is now just a prison to them. If there’s even a hint that they might be allowed to get out, they will whine and whine and whine and whine until someone sets them free.

They understand some words now, too. The most common of which are Goose!, on mange (let’s eat), debout (up on your feet), viens (come), bravo (elicits applause), gimme five and chapeau (which makes them quickly put whatever’s in their hands on their head)!

Sebastian update:

- He is 31 3/4 inches tall. He weighs 24 lbs. 8 ounces.

- He’s walking well. He’s mastered it, frankly. He can carry large (sometimes comically large) objects while he walks.

- Everything that’s vaguely rectangular and can be held in one hand is a telephone.

- His hair is getting too long. It’s starting to get in his eyes but I don’t have the heart to cut it yet. They’re no longer babies when you cut their hair, you know. And he looks like a lovable mad man with his little blond mullet.

- He doesn’t like pasta. What kid doesn’t like pasta? In fact, he hates pasta.

- He’s a bully. He steals anything that he fancies from his brother. With undue force and brutality if the mood strikes him.

Nicholas update:

- He is 30 1/2 inches tall. He weighs 22 lbs., 11 ounces.

- He prefers walking to crawling now but his gait is still a little Frankenzombie-esque.

- He LOVES pasta.

- He’s got a molar. That’s something his brother doesn’t have and can’t steal from him. So there!

- He’s the world’s best sleeper. He goes to bed and plays quietly until he falls asleep. 12 hours later, he awakens and plays until someone comes to get him. He never cries when we put him down unlike some OTHER toddlers we know.

The church was jam packed with kids. Lots of kids. Kids wiggling. Kids laughing. Kids whining. And adults, woefully outnumbered, desperately trying to wrangle said kids. Our boys, while not entirely angelic, were well behaved.

I’m happy to report that, despite my aversion to organized religion, the genuine conviviality of this event made the outing (and standing for an hour +) totally worthwhile.

Cut to Christmas morning: It was mostly a morning like any other. We got up when we heard the boys horsing around in their cribs at 8(ish) a.m., fed them and had our coffee. Then we opened our gifts.

Next year, I suspect it’ll be a bit more elaborate. The boys will have a vague understanding of Santa and the notion of opening (and hopefully giving) gifts.

In the meantime, here’s a glimpse of our Christmas morning. It would have been nice to have you all in our midst.

Click on the photo for more images.

I think it’s fair to say that Sebastian is well on his way to becoming a pedestrian, no?

God help me.