When laughter fills the air

One of our favorite traits that the twins share is their love of laughing. They both seem to wait for the moments when we will tickle them or make faces at them so that they can laugh.

Alyna will squirm while you change her diaper, but as soon as you're finished she lays there and looks at you just waiting for the tickling to start. A couple weeks ago I put one of the stacking cups on my head, and as it fell to the ground she started laughing her head off. She proceeded to laugh hysterically for the next 10 minutes while I did it over and over again. It's the hardest I've ever heard her laugh.

Ryan laughed his hardest a couple days ago when Daddy was cleaning the outside of the living room window. We don't know what was so funny about it, but having Daddy outside the window just caught his giggle box the right way.

Alyna is now queen of the back bend. Whether she's standing, being held, or kneeling, she will throw her head back and arch her back. Between that and Ryan's strength, we are seriously thinking about the local tumbling program that starts at age 3. It would be great to nurture their natural athletic abilities in a that way from an early age... but in a non-competitive way.

They are both becoming braver with walking. Yesterday Ryan started to walk the first 5-6 steps anywhere he went and then get down and crawl the rest of the way. I think in another week or so he'll be a true toddler. Alyna is still more cautious, but you can tell she's really working on it. I've set up some dining room chairs amidst the living room furniture, and she always tries to find a way to walk around without crawling.

I'm also happy to say that we have been completely pacifier free for 2 weeks now. Of course, I picked the night Barry went to the ER with kidney stones to go cold turkey without them, but I didn't give in. They actually slept just as well without them, it was just the process of going to sleep that had more crying. This is also a challenge for me because they are teething for real this time... I can feel the sharp bump on Alyna's lower gum. But there's no going back. The pacifier fairy took them all away.

I hope laughter also fills the air where you are this week...