It's an infestation

They're everywhere. And it seems like there are two dozen of them instead of just two. Since Trace and Alysse have become mobile, and quite efficient at getting themselves from point A to point B, we've been overtaken.

They now crawl faster than the speed of light, pull themselves up and consider going hands free for a couple of seconds before plummeting to their bottoms. But most importantaly, THEY GET INTO EVERYTHING.

Yes, a baby who has learned to get around, gets into everything. But chasing behind him or her, you can steer them clear of things other than their own toys, for the most part. You can't steer two clear of anything. One goes one way, the other goes the other way, and you're left deciding which one is causing the biggest disturbance.

Here's a scenario.

Alysse takes off for the coffee table where the Puzzle Pixie is doing her thing. Just as she's going in for the kill, Trace takes off behind Alena and her doll stroller. Okay, in the second and a half you've turned your head in reponse to Alena's squawking, "No, Trace man, get off my stroller," Alysse has pulled herself up and managed to tear apart half of Alivia's jigsaw puzzle.

Obviously the jigsaw crisis takes precedence, as Alysse is now inserting one of the cardboard pieces into her incredibly wet, drool-filled mouth, so you head that direction. Just as you remove the puzzle piece from her hand, Alena's protests grow even louder as a result of Trace pulling himself up on the stroller and bringing her baby's walk to a halt.

As you're walking in Trace and Alena's direction, you ask Alivia to please move the puzzle away from the edge of the table and out of Alysse's reach. When, before you can finish the sentence, Alysse has managed to bring another, completely unrelated and un-put-away alphabet puzzle crashing to the floor. Now she's got 26 pieces all to herself that are wood and therefore great teething apparatuses.

Okay, back to operation stroller. Pick Trace up from his stroller stance allowing Alena's walk to resume, only to turn as a toy grocery cart full of 117 pieces of plastic toy food (yes, 117 pieces, it said so on the box) comes down on top of Alysse. To her credit, she does still have the letter G in her hand.

This has been about three and a half minutes of our day.

The dishwasher is another favorite. Between the two of them, they can unload dirty dishes and utensils quicker than I can load them. And by some still undetermined skill, Alysse manages to put her hand on every knife in the silverware bin each and every time she pitches in to help.

Jason's coining them an infestation is truly the best description of what two crawling nearly nine-month-olds is like. As harsh as it sounds, they are like little cockroaches, scurrying to get to their destinations as quickly and persistently as possible.

Into each other, over each other. Heads colliding and sitting upon each other. Their mobility has created an infinite number of new obstacles, new adventures and new challenges. It only leaves you wondering which way to turn.