Keeping Up- New! With Words!

So I know you grandmas (and others!) love to see the pics of the kids, but I have not been feeling like shooting lately, and frankly, the kids just haven't really been photogenic lately.
I know you don't believe that, but it's true. (barfing and drippy poopy diapers- not pretty- it's flu season)
So I thought I'd just give a written update, to catch you up.

Julian-
Where to start? The Dude is just as cute as can be as you can see by the pictures below. He's growing so fast, but for now he's still my baby. My sweet little sack of potatoes infant baby. Which I know won't last for long. Good thing too, I suppose, because we somehow lost our snazzy Ergo carrier which means I carry him around in my left arm all the time, and I have the worst permanent kink in my left shoulder and neck that you can imagine. I look like Igor trying to make a half turn around to see to the left. And you know how as The Mommy I'm supposed to do those whip turns to catch weasels in the act of something and all I get is a shooting pain up my neck. Anyhoo, as soon as the J-man starts walking, he can carry his own fatty parts around and maybe my neck will straighten out.
Right now, he is satisfied with pulling himself up onto everything and standing and "cruising". The uprightedness has made him much more appealing to his sister who now seems to treat him more like a little brother than a boring sack of potatoes who sucks all her parents' attention. His uprightedness also means that he can pull himself up to see what Zoe is working on. Little Einsteins Pat-Pat Rocket on the couch? Me Too! Sea Creatures on the (new improved soft leather) coffee table? Me Too! Play Dough on the mini table? Me Too! While this new upright Mr. Man may be more of a "person", he also is a little too interested in what she is playing with for her comfort. When he's not standing, he is crawling so fast he could race the cat. He likes to bat things as he crawls (don't leave a cup of coffee laying around) and he loves anything with wheels- cars, trucks. He also loves to play ball, throwing it back when you roll it to him.
His other trick is Patty Cake. Once he realized that this cute little game makes the adults smile and applaud, it became his favorite. Mommy frowning? Patty Cake! People on the street stop to chat? Patty Cake! New person in the room? Patty Cake! No, wait, cry! Cry!
Which leads me to his new issue: Stranger Anxiety
Sometimes taking care of two weasels under the age of 3 can be lonely, trying and exhausting. Sometimes, The Mommy needs a little company and some extra helping hands. Enter, Good Meaning Friends And Family. So the witching hour arrives and everyone is hungry, 3 different meals need making and eating, baths need drawing, teeth need brushing, dishes need doing, baby needs nursing- you know, usual evening stuff. On a good night, reinforcements (daddy) arrives about 8. On hockey night, The Mommy has to go it alone. So friends rise to the occasion and offer to come over to keep us company, eat dinner, and help pajama some weasels. But as soon as an unfamiliar face walks in the door, Julian wrinkles up like a prune, turns red like a tomato and starts dripping like a faucet. He cried and cried and cried so much that he scared everyone out of the kitchen, including me. The only soothing he would accept, of course, was a boob in the mouth. Needless to say, we wound up having to order a pizza. It is this way whenever a stranger comes over. I don't mean some hobo off the street, I mean anyone that doesn't feed him everyday. So I wind up more stressed out than if I had just tried to go it all alone. Good times.
On the upside, he started saying "mama", he sleeps through the night (boo-ya!) he smiles all the time, he loves getting his 6 teeth brushed and he rarely complains when his sister tries to ride him like a horse.

Zoe-
Oh where to start? Our strong willed little vixen. Little Zoe Spitfire. She is a pistol. Smart as a whip, nothing gets by our little elephant. We call her The Elephant, because she never forgets. Oh the things that fall out of her mouth. Zoe loves to read. One of her favorite places is the bookstore. She memorizes books, then "reads" them to Julian. So cute. She loves to lead lively rounds of "ABC" and "Twinkle Twinkle little star", counting down and conducting the chorus (dad and I). She has finally gone diaper free (woo-hoo) but has made this leap not by constantly running off to the bathroom, but by holding it and only going like 3 times a day. She hates going to the potty- it takes away from her "me time".
Zoe not only loves everything related to an aquarium, she almost is a fish. She swims every week, throwing herself into the water fearlessly. She swims underwater, smiling away.
While sometimes it seems that she is a string of tantrums, throwing her hands up in the air, her head back, falling to the ground and squealing like a banshee every time I try to brush her teeth, imply a nap time, turn off The Wonderpets or suggest anything necessary, she also has become more and more loving. Wrapping herself around my thighs and looking up into my eyes she says, "I nove nyoo too, honey" while I'm washing the dishes or picking up toys. She calls us "honey", all the time. "Honey, dat's not the way to Tot Zone" when I zone out on the freeway in the morning. "Honey, net's watch Sesame Street". "Honey, Junian needs his booby time".
Today she picked up my bra and asked Daddy to put it on her. He asked her if she knew what it was for. She said, "It's my booby fing. It's for my boobies!" True, we live in a booby-centric house.

I know, babies are babies and kids are kids and while they are all different, they are inherently the same. Babies are born every day! Kids learn to talk and say silly things. Never the less, from conception to walking and talking, every step feels like such a miracle. And watching it all unfold before my eyes just feels special.