So I do torture my kids...

I said in my last post that I wasn't actually trying to torture my kids with the mall fountains, that they did kind of like them. Well, I shouldn't imply I don't ever torture them. Because I do.

Case in point...

Sometimes Lukie and I go together to get Clara when she wakes up from her nap (sometimes Lukie does it alone, but he'd really rather I be there to change her diaper). And sometimes I put Luke in her crib with her. 

Clara's usually not too hot on the idea...

Guess which one likes this and which one doesn't

But it always has potential for some great pictures. And isn't that what it's all about?

Clara, mid-jump

Ok, I'm free. Let me try to break you out.

With Clara's blinds up, I noticed some great light. So the quick crib shots turned into a mini-photo shoot.

You'd rather I not eat this carpet fuzz? Yum!

The many faces of Luke, aka Bruisy Face

I threw this in just to show how 99% of my photos turn out

So because the sibling crib torture wasn't enough, nor was the impromptu photo shoot (which is always a kid fave), I decide to put Clara in her hamper...

Are you serious, Mom?

What? Let this bother me? A hamper's like my second home.

Clara was unrattled. So what's a mother to do? She puts her other baby in, of course...

And it was going quite well until...

Cute, even when they're fighting

...the quarters got a bit cramped. 

And on that note... we went about our business as a normal family. You know, like getting Clara that bottle she'd been asking for.

My poor kids.

Nerves

Just when I think this child is fearless, she proves me wrong. Like today, at the water fountains at the outdoor mall.

I thought she'd love it. She loves big pools. She loves baby pools. She just mastered her baby pool slide which she climbs onto and slides down all by herself. After falling once the other day, she got right back on the horse, proclaiming, "I do!"

But not today. We're not sure if it was the shooting water, or the big kids running around (probably a combination of both), but she was a ball of nerves.

This was as close as she got for a while...

No, really Mama. I'm not scared of the fountains. I'm just very interested in this maintenance worker...

And then Lukie was even closer to the water than she was...

There was a lot of leg-hugging...

And watching safely from a distance...

And just when you might wonder why we were torturing our children with water fountains...

...she warmed up to them. She walked closer... and closer...

Until... Ahhhhh!

I'm ready to go, Mama. If you don't put me in this stroller, I'm pushing it to the car on my own!

I think we'll be sticking with the baby pool from now on :)

Pool pictures

It was cool enough to go in the pool today. A mere 82 degrees! It felt like Spring.

So we did.. and my two little fish went crazy!

There was lots of sliding...

And some back-patting...

And some good-natured hair pulling...

And some... I'm not sure what was going on here...

At the time I thought she was kindly warning me that she was going in her diaper. But that wasn't it. My second guess is she was looking for her belly button. She likes to know it's still there.

We knew Clara loved the water, but we weren't sure about Luke. But he couldn't get enough! Splashing and moving all around the pool...

This kid loves his big sister. Just look at how he looks at her...

Speaking of looks...

Oh my...

Why don't we do this every day? Oh ya... because it's too hot!

My favorite things

Clara's sweet hugs from behind as I'm sitting on the floor.

Waking up to Luke's face inches away from my own, smiling up at me.

Baby belly laughs.

My babies hugging, sitting together, or interacting whatsoever.

..And when I have a camera aimed at them at that particular moment.

Clara's love of singing and her sweet little voice...

Clara's "Happy Song" - an original composition which goes something like this: "Happy, happy, happy.. muah, muah.. happy, happy!" (Those would be kissing sounds)

That Luke can go from a crazy-freak-out-screaming cry to completely calm just by me picking him up.

That Luke loves me more than anyone else on the planet.

Simultaneous naps.

Sink baths...

...and red hair.

Clara's insistence on kissing us goodnight and goodbye. She chases after us yelling, "Kiss, kiss!"

Out-of-the-blue-for-no-apparent-reason hugs and kisses.

Luke's new ability to kiss, even though he so far only gives them out to other babies, including himself..

Watching my babies and their daddy.

Feast days! Clara spent her feast day today (Feast of St. Clare) at the Children's Museum...

These are a few of my favorite things.

Interaction

There has been interaction between our babies ever since we first brought Luke home from the hospital. Clara took to calling him "baby" very early on (even before he was born, actually), and recently has started switching back and forth between that and "Lukie" (or, what sounds more like "yucky," although we can definitely tell it apart from the real "yucky," which she also likes to say a lot).

Clara has always kissed him and hugged him. Early on, she loved reminding herself (and mimicking me) to be careful with him by saying "gentle, gentle" while she rubbed his bald head.

And recently, she asks to have him brought to her before bedtime or upon waking up from a nap by saying, "kiss, kiss!" if I'm holding him. I lean him down to her and she plants a wet one on his cheek.

It's adorable. They have always loved each other, lighting up when the other was around (especially on Luke's part), and really getting along.

But not until recently have they really started actually playing. They have played ever since Luke could sit up, really, but not like this. It was more like Clara dropping all her toys on his lap and him playing with them, one at a time.

But now, they play together.

I can't get enough of it. I could watch them all day, Clara playing with Luke like I play with her, and Luke just cracking up.

I caught some of today's playing on video, just because I wanted to be able to listen to Luke's laugh here whenever I wanted. Of course, he wasn't laughing as hard as before I started taping, but I was able to capture some:

I'm so grateful that God chose to bless us this way, giving us two babies so close in age who will grow up to be (God willing) the best of friends. Being their mother is better than I ever imagined, even though I had a lot of time to imagine. God is so good!

Nanas

Clara just loves nanas.

One Nana is one of her very favorite people. She talks to her on the phone, and Clara sometimes cries when we hang up. And she always says, "Bye, Nana!" the second after the call ends.

The other nana is one of her very favorite foods.

Not as high on the list as blueberries, but close.

And she evens holds them like a big girl.

Thank goodness for nanas!

Not ready for this

The days are numbered. My time with only one mobile baby is dwindling away. I can feel it. 

Luke is not crawling just yet. He finds a way to get to something across the room if he wants it badly enough, but you could stare right at him and not have any idea how he did it. 

So I thought I had some time.

But then this past weekend, when we were traveling, Luke did something unexpected. He pulled himself up in his hotel crib. 

Oh, dear. 

And he's been doing it ever since.

The couch.

The play yard.

Toys. Very unstable toys.

We all know what this leads to. One thing. And it's no good. At least not for a mommy who would like her baby to stay a baby and have only one kid who can run around, getting into everything, terrorizing the animals and breaking through baby gates. 

Thankfully, he's still extremely unstable and can barely hold himself up for two seconds before falling (should I say 'thankfully' when it involves falling?). He's not even close to standing unassisted. 

And let's keep it that way, buddy. 

Your sister went two months between pulling up and walking. Can we make it at least three for you?