Na-NA?...

Na-NA or 'banana' is one of the babies' favorite words. Grace especially will point to bananas where ever she sees them, look up, and inquire "Na-NA?" Needless to say, we strive to keep an ample supply of bananas in the house :o)

Last winter, the babies slept in "sleep-sacks" which are essentially very small sleeping bags that zip from the neck down to the feet and have arm holes. This winter, they have successfully transitioned to sleeping under quilts. They enjoy this quite a bit. Each baby will collect their stuffed animals, cram themselves against the wall or into the corner of the crib, and expect to be tucked in by Mommy or Daddy. If they are up and about in their crib, Jade can give the command 'lege Dich hin' / 'lay down' and they immediately drop. 'Setz Dich hin' / 'sit down' and 'Steh auf' / 'stand up' are also obeyed most of the time. Jade can also ask Grace and Ella 'darf ich dem Affen / dem Loveybären einen Kuß geben?' / 'may I give the Monkey / LoveyBear a kiss?' and they will immediately and enthusiastically hand him their lovey (but they soon want the lovey back so that THEY can show it affection).

This last weekend, we went over to some friends of Jade (Linda and Roger) whom he has known since 1997. The babies were privileged to enjoy for the first time the concept of eating from a "buffet" (appetizer trays with crackers, cheese, pickles, and so forth). Their favorite item was red grapes still on the vine. Each baby would grab a bunch, run around the room eating the grapes until their bunch was empty, and then return to select a new vine. They looked so grown-up doing this! Boy also by choice ate two whole black olives (an item of which even Jade is not particularly fond), and Grace ate cheese (she's normally not a fan). Joel also found a toy with a string attached; this made his night! Ella found it a bit more amusing to pull down a bowl of potpurri when she should have been falling asleep :o) Nothing that a bit of vaccuuming couldn't resolve!