Just one more month until one year...

Holy smokes how time flies on by! I cannot believe that these little girls were born almost an entire year ago...and yet...how can it only have been (almost) one year? More than once this thought has brought tears to my eyes. Ian usually laughs as, through sobs, I complain that the girls will be graduating high school and college sooner than we can imagine.

But they are fun...oh-so-much-fun. Ian and I are really enjoying this age - Evaline is a real, actual toddler now (according to the weekly emails I get from St. Luke's - the hospital where I delivered - a baby becomes a toddler once (s)he walks, or should I say...toddle). Cora took her first, few timid steps on Sunday...or so her father says. No one else was there and I have a difficult time believing that she would accomplish such a big feat without her mommy around to see it. On Tuesday when I picked her up from my parents she took a few steps right into my arms, so, as far I'm concerned, those were her first. :-) Both of the girls will walk quite a distance when holding on to a helping hand...I can't believe how quickly they are growing!

It's becoming clear that they understand more of what we say and they are finding ways to communicate with us. They both wave (Evaline likes to wave "Hi" more than "Bye"...and, acutally, "Hi" was her first -- and for right now, only -- word!!) and LOVE to play patty-cake. But, like with everything else, they do it differently. Cora loves to - with a very serious look and lots of concentration - clap her hands (or to help us clap our hands), and Evaline waits with a huge grin and bated breath to "throw it in the oven" tossing her hands high above her head. When we ask how big they are, they show us "SO BIG" by stretching out hands and feet as far as they will go. They play - even initiate - peek-a-boo, both with us and with each other. They wrestle and play and are so very excited when they see one another after getting up from a nap or being separated in some other way.

In other news...well, there really isn't any. Work has been keeping us busy, particularly the past couple of weeks (conferences, papers and tests to grade, etc). As I think I've posted before, this new job is requiring more from me...there's more work and less time to do it in...this isn't a complaint, because I really like my job...just a statement that it takes a bit more.

I finally have some photos to post, too. A combination of the girls just not taking very good pics lately (below I have an example of what almost every picture of Cora looks like), and me just not taking the time to get them off the camera and re-size them to go on the website has left this blog a little lonely for images. But...here we go, hopefully this will make up a bit for lost time.

This is what Cora looks like when her dad dresses her...oh my...


Evaline - just relaxing after a hard day of playing, playing, playing...


Eating snacks like big girls while watching Baby Mozart...probably breeding bad habits...


Super-cute jogging suits (although not quite jogging yet - thank goodness!)

Cora found out how to crawl onto the shelf under the TV (and so it begins...)

Ah yes, Evaline figured out the shelf thing, too...

We're thinking that Cora might be a dentist...she LOVES to examine teeth! (what a weird-o!)

Evaline took a tumble into the toy-basket...

but found her bunny in the process, so all was good!

Cora REALLY wants the camera...

Eating...

More eating...

The next two pics are of what we USUALLY get when we break out the camera...kinda cute, but you can only want so many of these...

Evaline is our "nook and cranny" girls...every little crack she want to try and squeeze through!

Just playing...

Here are some of Evaline's first steps...which were actually about a month ago...she's much better at it now...

I promised Ian that I wouldn't post this one - he feels he is too much of a featured player in it...but I don't that it is fair to have the video of Evaline and not one of Cora. So, sorry Ian....here are some of Cora's latest tricks...