One Year Old Twins

Are really, really tiring. Lately, I've been falling asleep during their nap out of sheer defeated exhaustion. But not today, dear people, today I have uploaded eleventy bajillion photos instead. And now I'm staring at my screen, totally unable to think of a coherent sentence to describe any of it. There are quite a few more 'oh no, it's time for bed, haven't taken a picture yet' pictures in here than there have been in previous months. That's mostly because the days have felt a lot more intense and difficult lately than they used to be, and I'm spending less time capturing it because frankly, I'm too busy tearing my hair out. And yes, I'm sure you needed to know that. Mostly, they're a waste of pixels but I've left them in because project 365 means project 365, dagnabbit!

In case anybody cares, the thing that is driving me around the bend is feeding. I mean eating. Actually I no longer have any idea what I mean - what I mean is the process whereby the children ingest calories in some form or other and end up not starving themselves . Which always sounded really simple, until one of them (Baby I! I'm talking about you!) decided that eating is for sissies and he'd rather not, thank you. Low point was Wednesday when baby I was perfecting his new feeding scream of death. It's high, scratchy and then rapidly drops in pitch and volume - it sounds for all the world like he is being pushed off a cliff. I keep expecting to hear a splash at the end, or at the very least the ring of the doorbell because the neighbours have finally called social services on us. This scream comes out whenever I put a spoonful of food near him - not forcing him to eat it, just offering it to him. And then there are tears. And I know he must be hungry, and it's food he's eaten before, but it's just tears and screaming. Reading that, it doesnt' sound like too big a deal - nothing a bit of friendly feeding advice wouldn't sort out. (But please don't. Seriously - don't). But gaaah, in the middle of it it feels like a very big deal indeed.

So anyway. That's why I'm feeling a bit fragile. Here are the photos.

Despite these outfits, we are often asked 'is it two boys ?' I'm thinking that if it's two boys, we don't like one of them very much.

This was a good day.

(So was this one)

Oh, I wish that I had a spoon.

Now, I have the object of my desire. And yet it seems that happiness still eludes me.

ice cubes! (just in case you thought she was eating plastic)

looking at this boy's arrangement of chins, it's hard to believe that he's on hunger strike. But he is. Oh, yes, he is. How can someone so adorable be so utterly frustrating? It's the question of the ages.

mummy, this is what I think of your dancing.

I got a wide angle lens for my birthday. I really like it.

I don't want him ever, ever to grow out of doing this. It almost makes up for the hunger strike. Almost.

Trial run of birthday cupcakes (yes! They're baked in the cone!)

Mummy, Ellyn Satter called. She thinks you're a loser.

BIRTHDAY!!!!

BIRTHDAY FISHFACE!

(The photos that follow are all from their birthday gathering on the day after their party. I have indulged myself with quite a few, because hey, you only turn one once).

here they are again (a different batch - we finished that first batch in about 2 days)

and here are two more batches of a different flavour (passionfruit and marshmallow - tasty but unattractive)

baby boy discovers cake icing. He hasn't looked back. It's the exception to the hunger strike. He's flopped forward to be at one with the icing.

Could their birthday outfits (all the way from Texas!!) be any cuter?

one of her smiling

and one of me smiling, which adds up to one good photo

grandparents holding two very sugary children

back to normal life.

you had me at hello

Finally, a grown up night out! So Holly and I went to see Toy Story 3.

gosh, can you tell that this is one of those end of the day photos I was talking about?

perhaps, mummy, perhaps.




(I got most of this together and have only just got around to posting it. Hopefully the august photos will follow quite quickly!)

More Movement

For my Project 365, I've been trying to take a few more videos. But I'm too incompetent to sort out the order properly, so they're getting their own post.


Six seconds to show you that the next Tchaikovsky, big or small, does NOT live at my house.



Nine seconds of the view from my seat in the car. He's about to outgrow this car seat, and I can't imagine the next one will give me such a cute cyclops view.



Baby L learning to crawl and squeak. If you've only got time for one, this is the one.



Some people are just insanely good with children. Our friend Abi is one of these people. Watch her tickle the babies! (If you've only got time for two, this is the other one. And incidentally, it was her feet in the previous video).

More! More! More!

It's taken me the babies' entire nap to download and sort these photos. It feels like it must be impossible that it's been a month since I posted photos - the time is racing by, and I don't seem to be getting anything done. And now I can hear them starting to squeak - happily, so far, but who knows for how long- so no words today, just pictures. Okay, not very many words.

And this time I'm going to be disciplined and choose only ONE photo from every day. And it's going to be in order. I promise. So:

End of may - we went on another family holiday, this time with John's family. Not much time to take photos in the leadup

but it appears that baby L is still plotting world domination in the bath.


Here we are, having arrived after a VERY long drive. I think you're all clear to go back to school, daddy, I can't see a single nit.

Some quality baby-and-grandpa time.

Some quality family time. I feel like someone's missing... naaaah. I'm sure I'm just imagining it.

Lots and lots of firsts this month.
First time in swimsuits!

and first....

first crawling. Life really hasn't been the same since.

First time being synchronisedly tossed in the air with a cousin

First time that Caroline has taken a week off project 365 (pretend there are 7 blank spaces here, in honour of that fact)

First trip to a National Trust property

Okay, NOT the first time she's been excited about a pretty dress

First time realising just how HUGE the babies really are compared when with a proper baby (welcome to the world, little Isabelle!!!)

First month it's been warm enough to really start living at the park. He looks so cute until you jam your fingers in his mouth and find out what it is he's been eating.

First group photo

NOT the first time this boy has been covered in kisses. In case you couldn't tell from his face.

First time on a swing!

First time for a boy in a box

First time for a girl in a box

First appliance obsession

First time absolutely refusing to stay still for monthly photo

First time at a Roman orgy, apparently

First time putting daisies in her hair (it won't be the last)

First time in a sink (does anybody know if there is a human version of www.catsinsinks.com?)

First time working out that now he can now be upside down without the need for parental involvement

(nothing first-y about these. But they were good).

First time pulling up to standing

and first time for a boy and a girl in a box together.

And suddenly it feels like we got quite a lot done this month, after all.

Like A Photo, But It Moves

I am all about the photos - video just confuses me. But 9 months after getting the video camera, I wanted to figure out youtube and so on, and I have spent the longest - seriously, the longest - time trying to clip this video. It's 2 and a half minutes long, because the babies did something very cute and then I kept the camera running, unsure of whether they might do something else worthy of recording for posterity. They didn't. Sooooo, I wanted to trim it so it was just the first 45 seconds but there is some kind of technical conspiracy operating that means I can't do it. Obviously it's not because of any error or ignorance on MY part. Personally, I blame Windows Movie Maker.

Anyway, in the end I figured that it would be simpler to just post the whole thing and let you clip it yourself by pressing 'STOP' at about 45 seconds, after the baby boy crawls away. I don't want to spoil the ending for you, but if you do choose to keep watching, eventually baby girl's hat blows off. And really, that's it.