16 Months!

Caroline and Ellie are 16 months old and they are changing so much in the little things.  

After visiting my parents in Alaska for 4 weeks, we are back in Houston and adjusting back to normal life.  We came back with them so much more capable than they were when we left.

This is our first time since before Christmas that we are settling in and just doing normal life, but back then (which feels like a lifetime ago) the girls were barely walking.  

They loved hearing the "swish swish" that their feet made in the snow

They are fast up the stairs and just at the slightest mention of bedtime or bathtime, they immediately stop what they're doing, go straight to the stairs and make their way to their bedroom.  

For starters, anytime you take a picture, they want to see it.  Somehow they know if a picture is being taken no matter if it is with my big camera or with a cell phone, and they always want to slide their finger across any screen to flip to the next picture.  

They have also learned and mastered "peek-a-boo"....

...and I have to say in my unbiased opinion, there's nothing cuter than walking the aisles of Wal-Mart the girls playing peek-a-boo in our double stroller!

They are getting slightly better at playing...or at least they show glimpses of playing with something longer than 8 seconds.  

The are getting really good at song recognition.  If they hear the tune to any familiar songs they immediately stop and start to dance.  

The like the Mickey Mouse songs...notice my Mom doing the "Hot Dog" Dance with the girls

Their favorite songs right now are "Itsy Bitsy Spider", "Where is Thumbkin" and "Pat-a-Cake".  They request us to sing these songs ad nauseam and they have a special hand signal for each song.  

We talked to Blake on Skype every night and now I have to keep the computer hidden because every time they see it, they want to talk to someone on it.  

Even on Skype, if someone asks them to point to a body part, they're happy to oblige.  We've covered all the facial body parts and now we're working on the joints such as shoulder and elbow!

With all the things that they can do, they still cannot say one small word, despite my best efforts.  Not even a Mama or a Dada. 

I guess the persistent whining is still working for them and they don't feel the need to form a word.  

Even if they can't express it in words, I know Caroline and Ellie are missing their grandparents.  It was a really fun month in the snow and with my parents.  Plenty of attention, arms to hold them, and kisses to go around at all times.  It was a great visit!