Wednesday, October 31, 2007

Happy Halloween 2007...

Haven't been posting much but just had to share these amazing photos of what are lives were like 2 years ago today. Just tiny little pumpkins:
This is Creed at 6 weeks old, probably weighing in at 3 lbs or so...
Zelda was definately stylin' for Halloween 2005 - this was her very first outfit ever - a little bit of grunge a little bit of Wilma Flintstone.
Evan arrived at the hospital just before midnight to celebrate Halloween.

Wednesday, October 10, 2007

Comprehension precedes expression...

So the twins are just starting to talk. Every day they have a bit more to say. That's not to say that they haven't been trying to express themselves for months now. Creed is not a big talker but has several words that he likes to pronounce on command:
-banana
-elbow
-bubble
-baby
And he willingly responds to "What does a sheep say?" He likes his B's. At times, he is willing to throw in Ma,ma,ma and Dada. He'll also have a little chat especially on the changing table while pointing at something. I have astutely interpreted some of his words to mean "I want that." Good thing I have a trained ear to interpret foreign languages.

Speaking of foreign languages, Zelda loves to repeat the French alphabet - esp while in her car seat on a road trip or when she's swinging. The English alphabet holds little interest for her. She has also taken a shining to Gwyneth Paltrow and that Cold Play guy's daughter and seems to call her baby doll "Apple".
Zelda likes her gibberish but in the past few weeks is breaking out of her 'echolalia' mode (look that one up!) and will instigate communication more than just repeating our words, sounds or anything else she hears. Apparently it's pretty common for a blind child and we love her imitations of burps, sneezes and other bodily functions.

But the best thing of all is that Zelda now understands the concept of "give". Imagine being blind and never seeing anyone "give" something to someone. It's hard enough for a seeing toddler. Teaching Zelda is so much about conceptual understanding. Each time we guide her hand we need to reinforce that she can do it without us helping/touching her. I have been playing patty-cake with her since she was an infant and even now, she still thinks the game is played by directing her hands (or vice versa). So when the other night at bedtime I said to the twins, "Give your toothbrushes to Daddy" and she walked over to Evan and handed him her brush, I got tears in my eyes.