As this is the Nielsen/Massey Family Blog, the Nielsen half of the parental unit figured he should post something for once (and the Massey half wholeheartedly agreed). So here goes...
The twins are really starting to play games. Games with Dada. Games with Mama. Games with each other. Games with the dog. And even games with the cat. Maybe there are even some games with Grama and Granpa but I don't know about them (however, I think it's a safe assumption).
I'm going to talk about games with Dada.
(1) The Paper Game
Finn and I have one game that I call "the paper game." Basically, I show Finn a piece of paper (maybe a receipt from my pocket) and then I slowly put the paper into one of my pockets. I then say "where's the paper Finn?" and Finn happily crawls onto my lap and tries to grab the paper and pull it out of my pocket (I usually leave a tiny bit sticking out). Once Finn has the paper, he grins and looks at me with pride on his face. Of course, I clap my hands and tell him he's a good boy. Then, I ask "can you give Dada the paper?" and Finn happily drops it into my open hands.
The game continues like that. The paper is placed in every different pocket and Finn works hard to climb onto whatever part of me he needs to (shirt pockets are the biggest challenge), find and grab hold of the paper, and triumphantly pull it out.
Every time he succeeds, he grins from ear-to-ear and sometimes squeals with excitement. And as much as he treasures the paper, he always is quick to hand it back to me (when I ask) so that the game can start up again.
Finn and I can play "the paper game" for a very long time before either of us loses interest.
(2) PEEK-A-BOO (with variations)
Another game is the standard "peekaboo" but we put our own twist on it. I put Finn in the Jolly Jumper and then use the apparatus as a coat hanger. Basically, Finn is hanging in the jumper as normal but now he's wrapped inside of one of Mama or Dada's coats (with his cute little face poking out from between the lapels). Then, Finn grabs the lapels and closes the coat so that he's completely hidden inside of it. And starts to giggle and squeal. Then Dada says "where's Finn?" and "where'd Finny go?" and sometimes "Olivia, where's your brother" Meanwhile, Finn's giggling and squealing gets louder until he can't stand it anymore and he whips open the coat and and smiles and giggles. To which, of course, I respond "there's Finn... there he is!" And then I tell Finn how he's a "good boy!" And then we start again.
The "peek-a-boo" game is a favourite of both babies (and both parents) and sometimes we all play together. Usually, this involves one person placing a blanket over one or both twins' heads and then walking around asking "where'd Finn go?", where'd Olivia go?", "where are you guys?", "where's the baby?" and loudly calling "Fiiiinnnnn! Oliiiiivia!" Finally, one of the twins pulls the blanket down, revealing an excitedly smiling little face on a little body that can't contain its excitement and glee and is bouncing up and down. To which we respond "there you are!" or "there's Finn" or "there's Olivia" or whatever is correct for the situation (once it was "there's Mama and Finn and Olivia"--that was a big blanket;).
(3) JOLLY JUMPER RHINO
Olivia's favourite game is to be in the Jolly Jumper and have her Dada act like a Rhinoceros and get down on all fours and grunt and bellow before changing toward her and bumping my head into her tummy. She absolutely loves this and gets a giggling fit every time. And so Dada Rhino does it, again and again, until "Little Miss" is just about hitting the ceiling she's bouncing so high (while squealing and laughing almost the hardest she ever does).
(4) THE FLYING/FALLING GAME
Both babies love the "flying game" where Dada throws them up in the air and then gently catches them on the way down. Finn loves this from a very early age but Olivia used to cry and was afraid. Now, Olivia is the daredevil type who wants to go higher and faster.
(5) TODAY'S NEW GAME (as yet unnamed)
Today's new game involved the fort I built for the babies (basically just a big blanket over one of their big play toys. Finn would "hide" in his tent and would yell funny "words" which I would then repeat back in a loud, silly voice. Then, Finn started peaking out of the tent fort and yell and then drop back behind the invisible cloak of his blanket. To this, I decide the only response was to crawl to the opening of his tent fort and quickly yell and silly noise at Finn, smile broadly, and then jump backwards and away from his sight.
The game soon developed into Finn making noises from inside the blanket and then Dada jumping into the open "door" of the tent fort and yelling the noises back at Finn. This created great giggle fits and squeals and soon, I realized that Olivia, who had been watching the whole time, was also giggling and squealing and found the entire thing extremely funny as a spectator.
Olivia had been out with me the whole time (while Finn "hid" in his tent fort) so I wanted to get her in on the action. I turned to Olivia and I said "go find Finn" and "go get Finn" and then pointed to the opening to Finn's fort.
Quicker than seemed possible for a girl her age, even our talented Olivia AKA "The Mighty Little Miss", little Livi bounded across the carpet and into the opening and surprised Finn with a loud "Rawrrr" before crawling up to her brother and grabbing his foot (and holding it in her firm grip) and then trying to pull him out of the fort.
She turned back to Dada and a look of great pride mixed with excited glee spread across her little face. I was almost like she was saying "I did it Dada! I found Finn! and just like you asked: I've got Finn right here!"
The game evolved from that point to Finn "hiding" in his fort and making noises that would either be met with repeated noises from Dada (after jumping into Finn's fort headfirst) or with a sneak attack by Olivia where she would grab Finn's little foot (by reaching inside under the walls of the tent--tricky Little Miss).
Both of the twins thought this was the best game ever!
(6) DADA BALL
Another of Olivia's new games is "Dada Ball" which only means playing ball (a big bouncy inflated rubber ball) with her Papa. First, I would toss high ones and Olivia would bat them down with her hands. Then, she started kicking the ball when I tossed it to her. Then, she started to try to catch it. I thought, no way she can catch, it's a really big ball and she doesn't have the reflexes for it.
Never underestimate Olivia's strength and determination.
She caught the ball three times out of only about ten tries (and she was close to catching about 4 other tosses). Once caught, she'd hold it for a few seconds and then drop kick it nearly across the room. And the amazing thing (if this isn't amazing enough), when I interrupted her and asked "can Dada have the ball?" our Little Miss would gently pass the ball to me or simply drop it into my outstretched hands.
Both twins like to chase the ball in their own version of soccer (football to the rest of the world). They basically bat and hit and kick and push the ball with their feet, knees, hands, elbows, fists, and heads. And after hitting the ball, they chase after it and whoever gets there first, gets to make the next hit. Hit and chase, hit and chase, it goes on and on and on... And it's very fun to watch!
So those are some of the new games.
OLIVIA'S FIRST WORD (and it's not one of those words that most people seem to expect)
For first word, Olivia has officially chosen "CAT"!
She's been saying lots of words and she knows the meaning of countless others but today, Olivia crept up behind our deaf cat while he was sleeping and she pointed directly at Leo and shouted "Kaaatttuh" (no mistaking the hard C at the start, the A sound, and the very clear T). Then she repeated: pointed directly at the cat's face and said "CAT!!!"
She says MAMA and DADA and DOG and JAck(the K sound is a little soft) and her HI is very clear and used for greatings but CAT is her clearest spoken word with an unmistakeable understanding of its meaning.
I mean, she understands more than I can even imagine (she understood "go find Finn" and "get him") but CAT is the word she's chosen for her first unmistakeable use of a correct word in the perfect context.
Olivia knows TUMMY and BUM-BUM (but can't really say them) and she reacts to these and other words to tell me where she hurts. But none of this is ever as clear and undeniable as her use of CAT.
So there you go. CAT is Olivia's first real word.
And this was David's (Dada's) first post on the Nielsen/Massey Family Blog
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