Strutting & Fretting

Our little twinnies play their favourite game. Peekaboo. And look for some telepathic behaviour from them. How do they do that?

There are fewer happier or funnier sights in this world than watching two toddlers eating Heinz Spaghetti with little forks.

They are doing a surprisingly good job though. But both children are orange now.

A few weeks ago I bough a Canon EOS 5 via Ebay. This is the first 35mm SLR I've ever owned. And this morning I got back my first roll of film.

While some of the pictures were very blown out due to my inexperience with slide film I did get some really great shots. Certainly I feel that the camera was £30 well spent.

You can view some more of my efforts on film in this Flickr set.

Right now, as I type these words, my wife is downstairs about to give our children their first cookery lesson.

They are going to make chocolate cornflake cakes.

The children are 18 months old.

How exactly do you think it's going to go?

Update: Here's a photo of the aftermath.

Ever since the twins were born I've been waiting impatiently for the them to learn to walk. Both have been cruising for ages and also taking a few steps unaided.

But actually making the switch to walking in preference over crawling has taken ages.

We thought our daughter might walk properly first, she's been stepping between handholds for ages now and always seemed to enjoy these brief solo flights, even if she was the more wobbly twin.

Meanwhile our son, who has been able to walk for ages now, has shown little interest in doing it very much.

"Yeah I can do that," his expression would often say. "But I really can't be bothered."

But yesterday saw that all change. He stood up and walked and has hardly crawled since. He's gone walking bonkers all in one day. The cocky so-and-so has even been carrying stuff around and putting sticklebricks together on the move as if to say "I told you this walking lark is easy."

We're absolutely delighted.

Our fifteen-month old daughter seems to have learned to speak this morning. Obviously not well enough for a spot on Quote Unquote, but there's a definite change in how she's communicating.

Instead of the regular babble of dadada and mamama there are definite recognisable words now - even if they are not spoken entirely correctly. So we get "ba" for ball, "bu" for book, "dat" for that, "Dayee" for Daisy and today for the first time we get a resounding clear "no" with a shaking of the head.

The little ones are certainly growing up apace and although they aren't quite walking yet it is clearly a matter of days or weeks. Our poor little daughter has chicken pox at the moment, but even covered in spots, she doesn't seem ill at all.

Our boy continues to be his usual mad self, adventurous, silly and a bit of a pudding at times - everything we love about him. Those of you with friends/family status on our Flickr page can see more pictures from this set.

Our little boy, bless him, has developed a fear of a small plastic bath toy. He's getting better - the first evening he met the little green alligator it sent him into hysterics. His sister on the other hand rather likes the alligator.

The terrified lad will now approach the offending reptile, he'll even hold it, but there's one thing he won't do - look it in the eyes.

Still, as his mother told him in all seriousness, "don't worry, it's only an alligator." I just hope such advice doesn't come back to haunt us should our boy go backpacking in reptile infested climes in his college years.

We're in Dorset at the moment visiting Wifey's parents and watching gales batter the world outside. Today is our son and daughter's first birthday, a very special day indeed. Here are a couple of shots of the little ones as they celebrate their birthday.

You can find more of these over on our Flickr page, if you're set as a friend or family.

Well the work CMS is on the fritz this morning so that gives me a little time to waffle here. I've got my mind on so many different, yet minor, things that I wonder where to start.

I've got to pack a few things as we're off to Dorset for a few days, a nice long break until Monday. There's a holiday feeling in our house probably due to going away for a bit longer than usual and because we're getting to run off for an evening of luxury away from the twins on Friday night.

The weekend also brings a chance for me to point my camera at some interesting things. I'm particularly looking forward to doing so because I've read and learned quite a few new techniques and lessons since I last had some attractive scenery to photograph. I've got all my camera gear packed up and ready to go.

Both our darling children are looking really happy at the moment, especially as they've thrown off the flu we've all been suffering from recently.

Only another month or so and they'll be celebrating their first birthday.

So it's great that Patrick and Kitty are now much more mobile and often attempting to stand up. But that brings with it the problem that they seem intent on getting concussion at every opportunity.

It's seems a day doesn't go by without them falling over and smacking their head. Patrick has a bruise on his forehead and it's a wonder he hasn't got more.

They've got this little musical truck that they like to hold and stand up against and without fail every day one of the twins will fall sideways from it and smack their head on the carpet. Kitty has done just that.

I've now surrounded both sides of the truck with cushions, but I now the dynamic duo will still be capable of falling without hitting the soft landing I've prepared for them.

I know falling over is part of learning, but blimey, it's a wonder our two aren't covered in bandages.

We always thought that Kitty would be the first to pull herself up and stand. She's certainly always been the best at standing when we've helped her. But Patrick has been quite amazing in his mobility the last week or so and regularly stands up for himself when holding onto things.

Kitty had got halfway - standing but leaning over on things such as a big toy truck we have for the twins. So far there's been no sight of Kitty standing fully upright on her own.

Until this morning that is, when she grabbed hold of the gate of the playpen and stood right up watching the world for a good ten minutes before she realised she had no idea how to get back down and had to be rescued.

So now they are back to being neck and neck - both twins standing up very impressively. There are differences, Kitty has uttered her first word. But Patrick is the best at crawling and sitting.

It's so wonderful, fulfilling and joyous watching the way our two little angels learn something new every day now that they are taking a huge interest in each other and the world around them.

Nearly one hour ago I brought the twins downstairs after their post-lunch nap. They didn't seem to notice any changes here in the lounge - certainly didn't notice the newly-fitted gate at the door.

As they enjoyed their post-snooze bottle neither seemed to be too aware I'd left their cage door open.

This was a surprise as they are usually eager to escape. And here was a day I was encouraging them to escape into the wider world now I've put a gate on the door to stop them getting too far away when I'm the only parent.

Patrick has now finally taken the plunge and decided to explore the room. So what is he doing? He's under the table hugging my leg. Bless him!

Kitty keeps saying "Dada". Not in reference to me in any way. But she says it in the cutest baby-talk voice you've ever heard. And it is as if she has tied a string to my heart and tugs it every time she says anything.

Dammit I love our little ones so much.

There are times when being a mummy overwhelms you with frustration. My moments of extreme frustration do, however, seem to clash with a certain hormonal peak plus this week three out of the four of us have had colds - so I guess it isn't fair to call this a normal week.

It is funny; I'd spent a large chunk of my adult life imagining what it might be like to be a mum and a wife. But before I met Harry I'd pretty much written it all off. I certainly didn't expect to be planning a wedding as we head towards the end of 2007. And I guess that the philosophising you do over glasses of wine as a single woman bear little resemblance to the day to day reality of being a nearly wife and mum.

The last week or so has been rather joyous form a parenting point of view. The twins are mostly very happy little things that bring us so much joy. Our timetable seems to be working better¹ and the little bits of childcare help we pay for give us enough of a break to retain our identity, as does the ability of both babies to sleep through the night.

But a new problem has entered our world and it's nothing so simple as both babies being on their fourth or fifth cold of the last month.

Nope.

The problem is that the babies seem to have decided they are in Gladiator school rather than safe at home.

After lunch Kitty and Patrick have a nap in their cots and we go to rescue them once the sounds of awake babies reaches us.

I've just been to change them and bring them downstairs for a play. Both looked like happy little things and I decided to change Kitty's nappy first. Patrick was busy giggling and wobbling around in the crawl position.

Then Patrick did something amazing.

The sun is shining this morning and all is well in our happy little world. Sure, Jo may be out at work - but she's earning a crust and doing her bit for our fledgling family. And the joy of having your better half out at at work while you're at home is you can get excited about their return.

Meanwhile I'm doing my bit, I'm watching our children play happily, helping them find their way back when they get lost under a sofa and enjoying being a dad. I'm even contemplating doing the washing up. Whether that actually gets done or not is a moot point¹, it's the thought that counts.

Microsoft's Xbox 360 may have all the best games, the best controller, XBox Live and a more powerful GPU but it seems it may not be the choice for the next generation of gamers.

Over the last week both Patrick and Kitty have got uncomfortably close to my various bits of technology surrounding the television but both have shown very little interest in the Xbox 360.