22 Months
Hi Everyone!
Kids turned 22 months last week.
This past month has been so fun. Winter has been so mild here, makes it easy to get out, like a little trip we took to the zoo last Saturday:
Sissy's hair has been crazy...she doesn't really like things done with it (she'll let me put it up, and then pulls it out), but it hangs in her face if I do nothing. We've tried all sorts of different things, from pigtails (my favorite) to tons of braids (don't like it...won't do that again). Also, she tangles it up in her sleep (witness the epic bed-head in the second picture below). We'll figure it out. In the meantime, how cute is this picture of her fixing her teddy's hair?
Luke and Zo are really affectionate with each other. Most of the time. Like at the library today, where they'd go their own ways to play but come back to each other at intervals and give a hug or a pat on the back. Or like here in the bath:
Zo always takes the elephant towel after bath, and Luke the shark. Funny how attached they are to their particular animal:
Lots of days at the playground, too. The kids run and climb and slide...I try to give them space and not hover too close:
Oh, and Daddy's been giving the kids gingersnaps as a treat. Luke crams them whole into his mouth in 3 seconds flat. Zo breaks hers into little pieces and takes her time...
Jumping in the crib in the morning is a new fun activity. As is throwing all the stuffies and blankets onto the floor. They'll often play for an hour or so in their cribs after waking, though, happy as clams, so I can't complain about the mess on the floor. :)
The kids also really like to cuddle in bed with us. Under the covers is key. We don't do a lot of screen time with them, but "What Does the Fox Say" is still in heavy rotation around here. Also "Truck Beep!" which is videos of fire engines responding, leaving the firehouse with their sirens going. For some reason that is ENDLESSLY fascinating.
A few more shots from the botanic gardens and the zoo. Saturday the kids had their first chocolate milk ever. Instant love.
And let's see...what else has been going on in the past month...
The affection the kids show for each other sometimes goes a little far, with Luke especially who likes to play a game I call "Tackle Tackle Sissy," where he wrestles her to the ground and she ends up crying. "You have to ASK Sissy if she wants to play Tackle Tackle before you do it," I keep saying to him.
The kids are talking like crazy, will repeat anything you say, three and four word sentences and lots of pleases to get what they want. And they are starting to learn colors and numbers. Usually when you ask what color something is they say "Blue!" but they are getting other colors as well.
When you ask Luke how many fingers you are holding up he always says "Two!" or "Six!" Two and six are his favorite numbers. Sometimes things get confused and you say "How many fingers am I holding up?" and he'll say "Blue!" But hey, they're not even two. I'm not worried. Animals...they can also identify a ton of animals, and what sounds they make.
Luke asked to go to the potty yesterday and then peed instead of peeing in his diaper. Yay Luke! We are not pushing potty training, but Luke's definitely interested. Sissy could still care less but that is fine. She went through a phase where I would find her naked in the crib in the mornings, but we changed from footie PJs to 2 pieces without feet and that seems to have taken care of that for whatever reason.
Sissy has a new favorite monster book called "Monster Mess," she wants to read it all the time but needs to snuggle to feel safe while doing it. The fear of cows seems to be disappearing a little, but today at story hour there was a story where there was mooing the entire way through and Sis had to snuggle with me to feel safe. Also if you ask her where a cow is, like in a picture book, she says "Hiding!" (Meaning she doesn't want to see it.) Or if you ask "What does a cow say?" she'll say "Bye Bye!" and wave goodbye.
Both kids like to brush their teeth in the glassed in shower (sans water)...and I figure, why not?
The kids do a lot with me errand and chore wise--the car wash is a hit, and at dinner they will spin the lettuce in the salad spinner for almost as long as it takes me to put something quick together. (Although Sis has been known to fling lettuce all over the kitchen, so the salad spinner is kind of a risky proposition.)
We have two different kinds of bubble bath and Luke likes just the right ratio--a little of this one, a little of that. He's very meticulous about it. And Sis is that way about her clothes sometimes. The other day everything had to be blue. And she got pink sparkle cowboy boots for Xmas and every morning she says "Cow Boots!"
They're both such happy and energetic kids. There are lots of "Hi!"s and "Hey!"s. (Everything they say they say as an exclamation, it seems.) There are high fives and fist bumps. There is "Roly Poly," where I put Luke on my chest and roll back and forth to either side of the floor while he laughs and laughs. There is tickling. There is chasing babies. There is vacuuming and sweeping with their new Xmas toys and they will take laundry to the laundry room and every night I rock them to sleep, each getting a turn, they both want me to sing "Teddy Bear Picnic" and nothing else and Luke always says "Hair Away" so I'll put my hair up because he doesn't like it in his face. And sometimes one or both of them want their fuzzy polka dot blankets wrapped around them while we rock and the one whose not being rocked will go get the blanket for the other twin. And we read on the couch in jammies curled up in those blankets in the early morning...it is bliss.
And Dexter, our dog who we will probably lose in the coming months, lays with us while we read, like he is listening to the stories. And lays in the hall in from of the kids bedroom door while they nap. It's the sweetest.
These are some of the things I want to remember from this time. We're having such a good time...
XOXO
