Monday, October 26, 2009

Calisthenics and sweaters





When they weren't consorting with Hoosiers this past weekend, the girls were interacting with one another. They have started to elicit giggles and guffaws while watching each other's antics. A favorite pastime is snatching a pacifier out of a sister's mouth and then having it snatched back, all in good humor (neither, thankfully, has any concept of "Mine!" yet). Maggie was particularly amused when Bea appeared above her poised to pounce. Crawling remains elusive, but they are increasingly mobile, finding ever more creative ways to scootch across the floor. Bea now gets up on her hands and knees and even -- as shown in another black-clad pose -- on hands and feet. She does not quite drop and give us twenty as the pose might suggest, but can Charles Atlas-style self-improvement be far off? Following their afternoon of rigorous exercise, the girls tried out their new sweaters, hand-made by Aunt Mary and complete with the same dancing flowers as she designed for our wedding invitations, their birth announcements, and these hers-and-hers ceramic bowls. What an aunt!

Sunday, October 25, 2009

Hoosiers!










We connected up with the Indiana contingent of Applegates at Grandma Joan's house this weekend. All but cousin Jesse (now a Brooklyn-based Hoosier) had met the girls early on, and now having had the pleasure of Jesse's company, the girls have met all their cousins. Maggie can be seen spending quality time with Aunt Amy and Uncle John, and both girls took a turn in their new jog-stroller and cozy bear suits with cousin Gillian.

Thursday, October 15, 2009

Maggie the ham





Maggie has mastered the fine art of mugging for the camera at a tender age. Thanks to Alison for these marvelous iPhone shots of Maggie in fine fettle. Stacking cups are a big favorite these days for both girls, especially when the stack can be knocked over. These photos also showcase Maggie's flair for sitting. We still put a boppy pillow around her in case she flops, but it is increasingly unnecessary.

Friday, October 2, 2009

Stowaways





Their head-control and sitting skills having improved by leaps and bounds, the girls have graduated from riding around the neighborhood in their car-seat buckets snapped into the stroller to sitting in style. While this affords less opportunity for staring up at the trees, it does have the advantage of facing forward. Bea shows off her impersonation of a ten-toed sloth (thanks to Jeff for discovering this talent). And both girls are quite pleased by their attempt to stow away in their father's luggage -- or is it a sit-down strike seeking to thwart their father's departure?