18 Months Old

Tomorrow, June 30th, Harper and Jack will be 18 months old. As Tony and I were loading kids up to go to the grocery store this afternoon, it occurred to us that the summer is  quickly slipping through our fingers. We were discussing what items we needed to buy and we were reminded that this Friday is the 4th of July, and then we were forced to realize that the June is over and July is coming at break-neck speed, and soon August will be upon us and then we will blink, and summer will be over. I feel like we have blinked and our babies have grown into toddlers who are desperate for a taste of independence. Here are some things that they're trying to do on their own:

-Harper has been trying to dress herself for days now; she snags a pair of Jack's pajama pants and will then sit and work and work until she gets one leg in. It's amazing to me the dedication this little one has (or stubbornness); she will get frustrated, throw herself on the floor and scream for about 15 seconds, and then she goes back to trying to solve her problem. I hope Harper keeps this "stick-to-it-tiveness".  She also loves to wear shoes and will walk around in shoes all day long. Here's how Harper walked around on Saturday afternoon- she put that shoe on herself.

-Jack tries to figure out how everything works. He wants you to explain what things are, and what they do. He is constantly asking "What this?" He loves to watch me or Tony cook (yes, I've been cooking- no, I haven't burnt anything or cooked something so awful we've had to eat sandwiches...yet). Here's a shot of Jack in the backyard today discovering the hose.

-Both kids also found Abby's leash Friday afternoon and decided that they would practice taking Abby for a walk. I was impressed that they worked together to get what they wanted and then they shared the leash (we are still working on sharing- I think we'll be working on that their whole lives).

 Aside from their independent streak, the kids have much better receptive language now and can actually have somewhat of a "conversation" with us. We can hold up two outfits and Harper will pick what she wants to wear. Jack will go and climb in his high chair when he's hungry or stand by the fridge when he wants milk. We can say something like, "it's bath night tonight; who wants to take a bath?" and they will both squeal and take off toward the bathroom.

With this new communication ability, also comes frustration because their vocabulary is limited and now they're starting to try and push boundaries (the both like to stand up on things they know they're not supposed to and then grin when we tell them to sit on their bottoms). The temper tantrums can be daunting, and reasoning with an 18 month old is sometimes like trying to reason with Abby (pictured here with Harper in a moment of camaraderie). But, we take each day (sometimes hour) at a time.

I am still amazed at how much these "little babies" can do now. There is no more "walking", Jack runs everywhere and Harper is starting to pick up speed to keep up with her big brother. We have swapped out bottles for smoothies (something they really enjoy) and swaddling for sleep slacks. Harper carries her sleep sack around like a security blanket sometimes- this is new in the last day or so. She will go in her room and get it when she's sleepy and then lay down and put it to her face and suck on her tongue. If you knew me when I was a little girl, then you know that I did almost the exact same thing, except instead of a sleep sack, I carried around a cloth diaper. I guess the apple doesn't fall too far from the tree.

I've also been working with kids on trying to get them to smile when we take pictures. Here are the results. I've been saying "say cheese" which works sometimes, and sometimes results in Jack going to the fridge and chanting"cheese, cheese"until I get him a snack. I know that they'll get it, and to think that 18 short months ago we were staring at their tiny frames in the NICU, praying that they would grow and thrive- and they have.

I'll close with some random pictures of our weekend: playing in the backyard, watching Sesame Street (something they just discovered this week), playing in their Cozy Coupe that we pulled out for them just today, and just some silly pictures. Our little slice of life is good.

Well, that's it...tomorrow I will wake-up and remember what I felt like 18 months ago and stand in awe of the way God has opened my heart and changed our lives in such a short time. I never could have imagined the wonderful ways He would weave joy into our home and I am thankful everyday for you, Harper and Jack. Happy 18 month birthday!

What We've Been Up To

I know that I've fallen off  of my normal blogging schedule, but I'm working to get back on track so the kids will have a chronicle of their summer; thank you for bearing with me!

When we returned home from the beach, Tony and I decided that it was time to give the little ones some more running space, so we took down the gate that kept them enclosed in the living room, moved some furniture, reinforced the gate on the stairs, and let the kids have the run of the downstairs.

It has now been a week since the "run free" experience was first introduced, and the kids are finally getting used to their new territory and they're caring less and less about looking at all the "new things" are going back to playing with their favorite toys. For a time, I thought that all they would do was run back and forth, but I think that's finally getting old.

As for the rest of the family, Tony has been working hard at work- it's a busy time for them- but he really likes the company he is with and feels valued there. I am counting down the days until the curriculum writing process is done and I can go back to being a "Stay-At-Home Summer Mom", and Abby is learning to tolerate the kids a bit more (punctuated by long afternoon naps outside in the sun).

Here are some pictures of what we've been up to lately: the kids dressed to go out to a nice dinner (they both look so grown-up here- I can't believe they're almost 18 months old), Harper throwing a temper-tantrum (epic tantrums are in our future, for sure), and a few candid shots of a "typical" weekend afternoon at our house (Harper listening to music on her daddy's phone, the kids playing in their room, the whole family camped out in the hallway reading books). I hope you enjoy!

Week with Momma

I have been off work for a week; I will refrain from saying that my summer vacation has officially started, because I go back to work on Monday for two weeks to rewrite and improve the curriculum that we used this year.  When I'm finished with that- July 3rd- summer will "officially" begin for me.

With that being said, the kids and I have tried to make the most of this week (with a few bumps along the way). We started off the week on Tuesday with breakfast; the kids finished their English muffin and then insisted that they feed themselves their yogurt...

 As you can see, they did a good job of making a mess, but they also did a good job eating and were so proud of themselves.

After breakfast, we packed up and headed out for a morning walk and a stop at the park. They had fun climbing and sliding and watching a "big girl" (about 4) on the playground.

Tuesday night Harper started acting like she didn't feel good and ran a low grade fever. We noticed that she had a dot- a blister- on her cheek and then Wednesday night Tony noticed a rash on her feet. After a  call into the doctor, it looks like Harper has hand, foot, and mouth disease. The nurse told us that it was common amongst kids and all we can do is let the virus run its course. We're waiting for Jack to start coming down with the bumps, but so far, so good. Harper hasn't let a little fever get her down, though; this is the "sickest" she's acted.

On Wednesday afternoon, Nana and Pop came over to celebrate a late Father's Day. Both kids were eager to help Daddy and Pop open their gifts, and Jack was very impressed with Pop's gift (an autographed baseball).

We also looked up to see Harper and Jack playing in their wagon in the dining room (we had gone on a wagon walk earlier in the day). The kiddos were excited that they had climbed into the wagon all by themselves and Harper kept shrieking with delight.

Jack also picked up a new hobby this week: cleaning. He took his washcloth that was in the dirty clothes and has spent all week walking around wiping down various items like the gate, the stairs, Harper's baby doll stroller, the kitchen chairs, Tony's shoes, and even Abby and Harper!  I've been encouraged to spray some 409 on that rag and let him get to cleaning.

The other thing that I've noticed this week is that the kids are really getting down the concepts of "hot" and "cold", which is interesting to me because neither Durinda, nor Tony, nor I have really worked with the ideas of hot/cold. We will tell the kids that something is "hot", so don't touch it, or we'll tell them that their food is "too hot" and have them wait a moment to eat it.  However, we haven't talked extensively about "cold"and both Harper and Jack have done things in the past week that have blown me away.

Jack was eating ice cream on our vacation and I was offering him bite after bite, when suddenly he stopped eating, put his little arms around his shoulders (like he was hugging himself) and then said "Cold!" Since then, Jack has also used the word "cold" when we were driving in the car and the A/C was blowing right on him; I happily turned it down for him.

Harper didn't say "cold", but she did convey the same concept. My mom and I were grocery shopping with the kids in the produce area and Harper made two little fists and shook her arms and said "brrrr". I have no idea where she got that Mom and I started laughing and Harper was grinning from ear to ear.

We are planning a restful weekend, but I'm sure the kids will do something picture/blog worthy- they always seem to!