Tessa (right) is particularly overjoyed by the swing-set.

This child is pratically hysterical with laughter each time she gets in the swing.  Tessa loves it.  She absolutely loves it.

Tessa is always  a very “smiley” kiddo, but the swings really get her going.

Nora likes the swings, too.  She did a great job of holding on tight to the sides.

Nora is very verbal lately.  Especially with the “ma ma ma ma ma”.  You can see the “m” forming on her lips here.   I love it.

Daddy is a great pusher.  Not to be confused with “push-over” which he will also be when the girls start saying “da da da da da da” and look at him with their ocean-blue eyes.

Thank you, Grammy and Poppie.  We love it.  I think we’re going to have a lot of great memories of our swing-set.

Recently, when Grammy and Aunt Gana come over we get up on the couch and look out the window at the birds and the trees and the houses and the cars whizzing by UNTIL, oh my, is that Grammy getting out of the car!?!?!

The girls start screaming and jumping up and down and are so excited.

When I get home from work and the girls see me come in the house, it is more of an urgent hyperventilation like, “Oh my, finally that mommy-lady is here.  Oh my. Oh my.”  And they crawl, flop and roll in my general direction.   It’s not as much as a cheerful ovation as it is a desperate reunion–as if they are wondering how we made it through the day being apart.

Then I throw on my play clothes and settle in for some sweet, wet kisses.  It’s one of my favorite times of the day.

Riding partners.

The lone Norita.

So cute.

Many of you know that I leave for work before the girls are even up in the morning.  Chad told me this morning he went in to get them up and Tess was standing up in her crib.  Wow.  I hate missing that stuff.

Happy Birthday, Nora!

You turned 9 months old yesterday.  It’s hard to believe, I know.

Nora, my first, my champion.  You weighed in at 22 lbs., 5 oz; 29 inches.

Tessa, my baby, my sweetheart.  You weighed in at 23 lbs., 1 oz; 29 1/2 inches.

Time for new carseats.

Happy birthday, girls.

This isn’t the best “live action” shot (below), but you get the picture.  Nora just has to get to something and Tessa’s legs are clearly in the way.  Tessa usually does more of a “full body block” over Nora’s back and Nora starts screaming until someone rescues her or Tessa finishing her descent over Mt. Nora.

The exersaucer also is a great location for crawling through.  Nora was in there with Tessa but she saw the camera and bolted for me.  And now the girls have started pulling THEMSELVES up on the gate (pictured below) and on the side of the saucer.

We’re in for some fun (and bumps) now!

In fact, I have thought about that day almost every day for the last 8 months and 27 days.  It was the most joyous day of my life.

Until I had my own children I don’t think I every fully grasped the profoundness of motherhood.  I never truly understood the pride a mother takes in the little things about her children…

I never really comprehended the connection that there would be…

…or the heart-bursting joy of a coo or a smile…

I had no idea how much fun, really incredible fun, this would be.

One thing that really strikes me about being a mother is the reflection of our own mothers and what they have and continue to do for me, for us.  From the world view of a child, it is hard to understand the constant and deep reflection that a mother has for her own children.  And then to think back to our grandmothers’ lives and the work and love it took to raise children of their own…

We are so grateful for what our mothers taught us about being wonderful parents.  And we are so thankful that they can now immerse themselves in the joys of being grandparents.

To our moms, Gwen and Terry–Happy Mother’s Day!  We love you.  And thank you.

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Has that child pulled herself up from her belly to her knees???

Nori, sweetie, whacha doing?

Momma, I’m learning…

…to stand all by myself!

Oh my.  Now we have to baby proof above the 2 foot mark…What a babe!

Both of the girls went from a crawling position to a sitting position this weekend.

I think Nora said “ba” for ball yesterday and really meant it.  She’s been calling me (and every living and n0n-living thing) “ma ma ma ma ma” for the past week.

Tessa is crawling circles around all of us.

Nora pulled herself up into a standing position by herself. (Pictures forthcoming)

Both girls have decided that they are going to feed themselves from here on, thank you very much.

Both girls have starting making a ticking sound with their mouths, which, I think, is an imitation of me kissing them CONSTANTLY (will this lady ever stop with the kisses?!?!).

I was telling a friend the other day how much I love each new stage.  How I rarely look back at the past month, the past year and yearn for its return.  I am a proud and boastful parent of each amazing accomplishment that my girls make, together and separately.  I remember cheering so loudly when Tessa rolled over for the first time that I accidentally frightened her with my reaction.  My babies grew quickly from the start and so they have rarely seemed like babies to me.  They already seem like little girls, little people with opinions and thoughts and emotions.  Their “littleness” is not so little anymore.  I can see and hear their personalities emerging in each great big triumphant cry.

Maybe it was all the changes this weekend, maybe it was the fact that so many of my friends are having babies right now, maybe its because its been so cloudy and rainy, but lately I’ve really felt myself gripping onto the past.  Holding tight to those moments that now seem fleeting.  It seems to be slipping away so quickly and I can hardly keep up.

I have always believed that I must enjoy my time with the girls in the moments that we are together.  Time spent freting over the past or what events the future may hold is time that is wasted.  But its getting harder.  I have to force myself to live in the moment and savor it for what it is.

It is.