some how the kids ended up in my room jumping on the bed and then snuggling up with the covers..... so adorable. i just love this picture!

Valen and Dahlia love to play with this lamp shade. they both wear it as a hat and try to take it from each other. it really is hillarious to watch them fighting over a lamp shade! he just wants to be like her in everything though. whatever she does, he will do it too.

Valen is really into feeding himself. unfortunately i am not. he makes such a mess (as of course babies do) but dahlia was not like him at all. at this age she would just let me feed her and it kept the messes to a minimum. then once she could actually do it, then we let her do it  a lot. i am convinced that dahlia is going to be so much like me and valen like his daddy. he is already showing signs of it. uses his left hand more (i have read that it isnt usually obvious till later in life, but still (= ) diving off furniture, being the comedian.... he just has a mind of his own and doesnt keep within the limits of anything. dahlia is so much more controlled. she is a wild girl, but has some sense of consequence. he is actually a bad influence on her (= they both love the bath tub and would take a bath every hour if  i let them. but they were both in there standing in front of it, and valen started to climb in. not once has dahlia ever even tried that. but as soon as valen got his leg up there, dahlia joined in of course.  i know kids are curious at all times, but it is funny how different both of them are and how they react to each other. it is just way too much fun in this house!

valen is eleven months old!! wow!!! he is getting so big! it happens so gradually really, but then all of a sudden you find yourself going "oh my goodness, when did he get this big?" he had been wearing a couple different pairs of pants around the house all of the time and they were 0-3 months and 3-6 months. i hadnt even noticed that they were getting so small. my sister gave me some 12 months stuff and i put them on him and they fit! i had no idea. so i put the smaller stuff back on and thought how funny it was that i didnt notice how short in the legs and tight in the waist they were. anyways, he is in 12 months pants, but they are a bit short. both our kids are so petite, but that makes them extra snuggly that, just the way we like them! 

this little guy is so a full blown walker now! he walks everywhere. he can walk all the way down the hallway without falling down, but everytime i tried to film him, he didnt make it. it is so much fun to have him so mobile! when he first tried this walking thing he would have a couple bruises and bumps everyday and it made me nervous. but he got better and better so now he rarely gets boo boos at all, mostly when he gets excited or if dahlia has something to do with it. (=

we went to the park today and put them both in the stroller and they were both so calm and just enjoyed it. then we put valen in the snuggly and let dahlia play on the toys. it was very cute. we are so glad that summer is so close. weather in these parts have been so cold lately and we are so ready for the sunshine to warm us up!! both of our kids just love it outside, as do other kids, but it is so refreshing to be outdoors and really love being with them and seeing them grow and change. 

here is a video of valen walking and then a bit of dahlia and valen dancing.