A Birthday!

How are these girls already a year old?! How?!  This year flew by.  I feel like we just brought the babies home from the hospital a couple weeks ago, and suddenly they're on the verge of being toddlers.  Both girls love looking out the window and reading books.  If they're being grumpy, I'll say, "Go pick out a book to read", and they stop crying and go over to the bookshelf and pick a book.  They can sit and study a book for 5-10 minutes by themselves.  They'll point at the pictures and really get into it.  If I'm reading them a book, I'll say "Turn the page" and they (especially Hattie) knows exactly what to do.  Lately, I can start reciting one of their books to them, and they'll go and pick that book off the shelf.  Sometimes when they're napping my phone (connected to the video monitor in their room) alerts me that they're moving.  I'll look at the video feed and see Hattie sitting up in her crib reading a book.  Hattie usually needs 5-10 minutes to think about life before she's ready to really wake up, so she'll always play/read quietly in her crib for a while before she cries to get out.  Once Tille wakes up, she's awake and wants out.  Yesterday after I put them down for a nap, I heard a weird noise in their room.  I looked at the camera, and Tille had reached out of her crib to a chair we have sitting next to her crib.  I didn't think she could reach it, but she had dragged it over to be right in front of her crib and was just playing with it, rocking it back and forth, dragging it around. 
Hattie has gotten really good at walking. She rarely crawls anymore. It means she has a lot of bumps and bruises from falling, but she's walking all over the house now.  Tille has been walking for a few weeks, but just a few steps at a time.  Just in the last few days she's gotten more adventuresome and will walk across a room.
The weekend after their birthday, they started really sleeping!  Hattie almost always sleeps from 8:30-5:30ish.  Tille wakes up around 2 or 3 most nights, and every now and then she'll scream loud and long enough that I'll go hold her.  But usually she just cries for about 10 minutes and goes back to sleep.  It feels so good to sleep again.  Now if we can just get them to sleep in a little later on the weekends.  That'd be golden.
Tille gives super good hugs.  A few weeks ago I was holding her in sacrament meeting, and every few minutes she would wrap her arms really tight around my neck, sometimes giving me a slobbery open mouth kiss on my chin or nose.  Ever since then, she's been giving great hugs, just whenever she feels like it, or whenever I ask her for a hug. Hattie and Tille love hugging each other.  If we say, "can you hug your sister", they'll both stop whatever they were doing and cuddle each other.  It's so cute.  Often, they'll be playing and start hugging each other.  They start off laughing and smiling and taking turns hugging, but it usually ends in a wrestling match with them mad at each other. 
For Hattie and Tille's birthday, we took them to their 1 year doctor appointment.  They got shots, which they hated, and they got their eyes, ears, nose, hips, etc checked, which they also hated.  But afterwards, the nurse let them choose toys out of a box.  Tille chose a yellow maraca and Hattie chose a blue squeaky whale (see the above video).  It was cute to see them study the toys in the box and choose the one they really wanted.  And they love them.  They rattle and squeak all the time.
Yesterday I tried putting shoes on them for the first time.  Hattie was amazed.  She grabbed one foot at a time and studied and stared at it.  Tille, not so much.  She only cared about getting the shoe off as soon as possible.  For the rest of the day, Hattie would try to put her shoes on, then take them off, then show me, etc, etc.
Oh, one more thing.  These girls really love tv.  Tille has always loved tv.  Even when she was just a few months old, she would stare at the tv for a good while.  But now, they both love it.  If they hear a baby or a kid talking on tv, or even kid type music, like in an ad or something, they'll stare until it goes back to being boring.  I think their favorite show is Sesame Street.  If they even see the logo come on the screen they'll get excited, and they squeal and bounce up and down when the music comes on.  When the characters sing songs, Hattie and Tille will bounce and rock to the rhythm.  Yesterday they were being super moody while I was trying to work and Matt was canning peaches at his parents' house, so I put Sesame Street on and they watched 2 1/2 episodes straight.  I didn't think they had that kind of attention span.  I sat on the floor, with Hattie laying on her stomach over my legs, propping up her head with her hands, and Tille leaning against my legs.  My computer was on the couch behind me, and if I moved at all, Tille would get sad and demand more cuddling.  So I worked in that position, craning my head around to see my computer.  But it bought me about an hour of work time, so it was good. 

A few Fridays ago we went to a Greek restaurant that Matt used to go to in college.  Hattie and Tille usually do really well at restaurants.  They sit in the high chairs and smile and wave at everybody who walks past.  They usually aren't super interested in eating though, when there's so much to see. (Tille on left, chilling in her seat, Hattie on right)

The babies weren't at all excited about eating birthday cake at their parties.  They were super sad and just wanted to hold hands to get through the ordeal.  They did eat their cakes over the next few days. (Tille left looking at camera, Hattie on right trying to get comfort from her sister)

Tille is quite the little poser. 

Hattie on left, Tille on right, celebrating their birthday.

Hattie looked so cute sitting in the grass. 

Here's Hattie swinging at East Canyon when we went up for the day.  I love her hair flying around and her cute little excited smile.

On their actual birthday, Matt and I got KFC and took the girls to a park for a picnic.  They LOVE playing at parks.  They love playing in the woodchips and swinging.  Look how excited Tille is to be swinging!  Hattie was smiling, but I couldn't get it on camera.

 I can't figure out how to get these pictures and videos in any kind of order. Sorry.  A couple weeks ago Hattie started a thing where, after we drain the bathtub and get Tille out, Hattie turns the tub into a little slip 'n slide.  She'll face the back, then hurry and turn around fast and slide on her tummy. She only slides a few inches, but she'll do it over and over again, and fight when we try to get her out. She hasn't done it as much anymore, and this video doesn't show it really well, but it was super cute. I'm hoping the other video is loading, but I'm not sure.  For the last week, Hattie and Tille have started putting their toys away.  Hattie really likes looking around the room for all her toys and putting them in the box.  Sometimes Tille will help, but more often she likes to dump them all out.

Tille is the selfie queen

Some of Matt's siblings came to our property in the Uintahs a few weeks ago for an overnight camping trip.  We were all hanging out at Mirror Lake Saturday afternoon and I took the girls for a walk around the lake.  When I rounded a corner, I looked back and could barely make out the group hanging out on the beach.  I had to zoom in a ways, so it's kind of blurry.

Tille started eating this way a few weeks ago.  She does this during every meal now.Sometimes she'll wave her foot around.

11 Months!  What?!

Now Hattie has gotten into eating with her feet up too.  I guess they just like to be really comfy while they eat.

This is Provo Falls on the Mirror Lake Highway.  I'm told there's a great hike to get there, but we just parked in the parking lot and walked a few feet.  It was super pretty.  There was a little trail that took us down several levels of the falls, with pools to wade in.

Oh my gosh, look at those smiles!

Tille always likes to sit on Grandpa's lap when we go to their house.

Hitting Some Milestones

Hattie and Tille like watching tv, and especially kid shows.  When we watch jeopardy, they both stop whatever they're doing and jerk their heads to the tv when the final jeopardy music comes on.  When we put on kid shows, they recognize that the talking and music are aimed at them and they'll pay really close attention.

I love this video so much. Hattie and Tille didn't know we were watching them, and they were hugging and cuddling on the floor for a while before I got my phone out to record.  Of course, once they saw my phone, they stopped what they were doing to come investigate.

Two weeks ago (July 3), I noticed that Tille had an actual tooth poking through her gums.  I got excited and told Matt and he said he had felt it a few days earlier.  I think it had started breaking through earlier, but it didn't actually show until the 3rd.  For months, every time the babies have been extra drooly or fussy or had a fever, we've thought, 'well this it, they're teething now'. And then nothing happened.  So I was pretty excited to finally see an actual tooth.  A few days later, the 6th, I felt Hattie's first tooth coming through.  Interestingly, Tille's tooth is her front left bottom; Hattie's is her front right bottom.  Also, Tille's hair swirls clockwise; Hattie's swirls counter-clockwise.  So maybe mirror twins?  Anyway, neither of them likes me putting my finger in their mouth or holding their mouth open, so I've still only gotten a few glimpses of their teeth, but I'm glad they're finally coming in.
The same week (I think the 3rd again), I was trying to get Hattie to stop digging through the recycle bin in our kitchen, when suddenly she was standing on her own.  It took me a few seconds to grasp it.  I looked and looked to be sure she wasn't holding anything, and sure enough, she was standing all on her own.  For the next week or so, she would do it every now and then, and every time it kind of freaked me out.  She's not sure what to do when she gets up, so she just stands there smiling, with her legs wide apart and her hands out.  Since I'm not used to her being upright, it looks almost foreign and unnatural.  But now that we're getting used to it it's really cute.  Last Friday (July 13th) I had been home from work for about 20 minutes.  Matt's sister Kathryn had been babysitting and was there sitting on the couch.  Hattie was over by her, and then stood up and took a couple steps towards me.  I'd seen her kind of move her feet while falling before, but this time they were actual steps while she was upright.  Yay!  She was so excited and proud of herself.  For the next 15 minutes-ish, Hattie kept trying to stand up to walk some more, but she was so excited she couldn't stop bouncing her legs to get balance.  I love seeing her so proud of herself.  Since then, she's taken a few more independent steps, but mostly she's focusing on standing and balancing right now.  Tille has started standing a little.  She hasn't been able to stand for more than a couple seconds at a time, but she's starting to practice.  I think they'll both be walking within a week or two.  Yikes!  And Yay!
Last Thursday the Michigan and Draper Glausers had arranged to have swim lessons at a neighbor's pool in Draper.  I invited myself and the babies along.  I've been wanting to take them swimming for a really long time, but we just haven't found a good time for it yet.  Either the pools are closed, or somebody is sick or we're too busy or the weather is no good. So I took work off for the day and went swimming with the babies.  Grandma and Grandpa held Hattie and I held Tille.  They were a little unsure, but ultimately had fun.  Hattie got right in and was splashing and kicking.  Tille clung to me, but as long as she felt safe on me she was smiling and kicking.  It was a good time.  I thought we'd only last 20 or 30 minutes at the most, but we were in the pool for 1 1/2 hours, with the girls having fun the whole time.  I'm glad we finally got them into a pool.  Hopefully we'll find more opportunities before the summer is out.

Grandma, Hattie, Me, Tille

Hattie loves to clap lately.  She claps for herself when she stands or walks, when Tille makes her happy, when somebody comes in the room, etc. She also loves waving to people.  A few days ago at the grocery store, Matt had Hattie in his cart and I had Tille in mine.  Matt said Hattie waved at everybody she saw.  Meanwhile, Tille talked to everyone we saw.  All through the store, she just talked and talked, telling everybody her story.

Hattie trying out Grandma's sunglasses

Hattie on left, Tille on right

Hattie's showing some attitude while she stands (and claps for herself)

Sometimes in the morning I'll take the girls for a walk around the neighborhood.  They usually just sit and chill and watch the houses go by.

When we put the babies in their cribs, they ALWAYS IMMEDIATELY flip to this position.  It doesn't matter how we lay them down, they roll right over and into a ball.

The girls sporting their first pony tails (Hattie on right, Tille on left)

They're getting pretty good at going upstairs. Not so much downstairs, but they try.  A few days ago, I had brought both girls upstairs, and with my hands full I couldn't close the door behind me.  A few minutes later Matt found Tille 3 stairs down, headfirst, trying to get down by herself.  Scary!

Hattie's so proud of her new skill

Both girls like to make squishy faces and breathe heavy.  It's a little game they play with us.  They might start and we'll do it back, or we'll start and they'll do it back. (Tille in red, Hattie in white)

The babies fell asleep eating on me. I had to take a picture of the cuteness.  Hattie in yellow, Tille in pink

9 Months!  Tille in white, Hattie in red

Everybody is wearing their soccer shirts!  We're fans of the Arsenal Gunners in our house.  It's a team in London.

The babies are both super ticklish.  Just a little squeeze gets them giggling.

Hattie waiting nicely for lunch

Tille trying to stay awake for lunch

She didn't make it

Hattie passed out pretty hard here

Tille is so flexible!

The girls love to read the grocery store ads with me on Tuesdays (Hattie in yellow, Tille in green)

Hugs!

I love these outfits! Look at those ruffle bums!

Here's Hattie being flexible

The girls love playing with my shoes. Mostly the red ones. (Hattie in short sleeves, Tille in long sleeves)

I found these cute outfits in a box in the closet. Probably 85% of their clothes come from a box in the closet that Jenni sent us from her girls.  Every couple of weeks I'll go through the box again and pull out the clothes that fit.  I think these pajamas are super cute.  I've also found a bunch of dresses that will fit in the next month or two. Thanks Michigan Glausers!

On the nights that Matt has HOA meetings, I'm on my own at bathtime.  This means that one baby has a few seconds to make a run for it while I get the other baby out.  Hattie took full advantage of that situation the other night, and this was the result.  She's so funny.

A couple weeks ago Matt and I were watching tv and the girls were doing their own thing.  We kept hearing giggles and laughs behind the couch, so I sneakily hung my phone over the side of the couch to try to record the girls.  This is what I caught.  They were just having a blast playing with each other.  This was kind of the tail end of it, so they weren't laughing as much in the recording as they had been, but it's still fun.  Side story- Hattie and Tille have never been big on binkies.  For a couple weeks we could give them a binkie to calm them down, but they would only suck on it for a few minutes and then they were done.  Now they only want a binkie if they can take it away from another baby.  But over the weekend they found their old binkies and started sucking on them, just for fun.  I was in the kitchen yesterday and the girls were playing on the floor.   They were cracking each other up, so I looked over and Tille was sucking on the binkie and making faces, and Hattie thought it was really funny.

The girls love to dance.  Anytime they hear anything even resembling music, they dance.  The other day Matt was doing dishes or something and they danced to the scrubbing noise. Here they are getting down to some reggae.

Matt got these pictures of the girls a few days ago.  Hattie above, Tille below.  They posed so perfectly!

We blew up the wading pool and let the girls try it out on Saturday.  It was smaller than the bathtub, so I don't think they were thrilled by this.  They spent more time crawling out and eating sticks and rocks on the driveway than they spent in the pool.  But it was something new for them to try.

We still have several outfits in the closet that I've been anxiously waiting for the girls to grow into.  These are some of them.  They might still be a little big, but I think they're adorable.  I couldn't get a great picture of the girls in them, and they hate wearing headbands, but trust me, soo so cute.

10 Months!  It's getting a lot harder to take these monthly birthday pictures!