Happy Father's Day

Things have been a little busy the past several weeks so I have been behind on my posts.  Jack and Madelynn are 19 months old now, almost 20 months!

This month we had their 18 month checkup (only one month late!)  Madelynn is 25 pounds and 33 inches tall and Jack is 27 pounds and 33.5 inches tall.  They are both still at about the 99th percentile for length--and growing so fast.

They have both become more verbal the past couple of months and learn new words every day.  They also seem to have their own language and talk back and forth to each other in a language only they can understand!

Maddy says mama, dada, nana, Ti (auntie), up, cookie, opping (shopping), may-may (baby), ack (Jack), sticker, hot, boo, night night, bye bye to name a few.  Jack has all of the same words although he is much more soft spoken then Maddy.  When he talks you have to listen closely while Madelynn belts things out at a high volume. 

This was quick, but Madelynn just woke up from her nap.  I will post some pictures soon!

Tiffany's wedding

 We traveled to Arizona this past week for Brad's sister's wedding.  It was HOT.  It was also Jack and Madelynn's first plane ride and they did great.  I prepared for the worst and was pleasantly surprised at how well behaved they were on the plane.  We spent our time in and out of the pool and getting ready to be the ring bearer and flower girl in the wedding!  Here are a few pictures...

In the pool...they were having a lot more fun then their faces show!

Ring bearer with his cup of milk

flower girl with her milk

Such a pair.  I look at this picture and see how much they have grown and changed in the past 18 months.

typical hotel room scene...relaxing on the couch while Jack walks on the furniture.  Next he tries to scale the portable crib.

waiting to ride on the carousel

hot and uncomfortable :(

Riding the Flinstone car

18 months!

It is so hard for me to believe Jack and Madelynn turned 18 months old on Sunday.  Time has flown by so quickly.  I spent a couple hours Saturday night watching videos we took of them in the NICU and over the first several months of their lives.  It is amazing how much they have changed.  They are starting to look more and more like little kids and less like babies.  I have to say, this is one of my favorite ages.  They are starting to be a little bit more self sufficient, and they learn something new everyday.  Seeing the joy on their faces when they accomplish something new, seeing them mimick every day tasks (Maddy likes to help fold the clothes, she shakes them vigorously first to get out the wrinkles and Jack is very serious about helping to clean up-he puts the books on the shelves and the toys in the bins) is so much fun. I am exhausted, but I can't imagine my life without these two little people.

Jack at 18 months:
Jack is such a sweet boy.  He always makes sure his sister has something if he does--he takes her a sippy cup, a bite of snack, and makes sure she has her baby before she goes to bed.  Jack has the best giggle and laughing eyes I have ever seen.  He is such a strong little guy--he climbs anything (including out of his crib now) and quite literally bounces off the walls.  He has more energy then I could ever imagine.  He loves seeing how things work, he takes things apart and puts them back together.  He throws balls (he has a pretty good arm, too!), he also likes to have order and will often help clean.  He LOVES his food.  The kid eats more then I do.  There is not a single thing he won't eat, and he often helps to finish his sister's plate.  He says mama, dada, nana, and has started to say the beginning of ball, coat, and shoes.

Maddy at 18 months:
Maddy is a precious little girl.  She sits for long periods of time flipping through her books and loves to bring book after book to us to read to her.  She also loves asking me to change the clothes on her dolls and then she wants them swaddled and she takes the baby from me and gives kiss after kiss to her doll.  She always helps me with the laundry--shakes the clothes and folds them, or gets side tracked and tries to put them all on at the same time.  She has become obsessed (this is truly the right word to describe her behavior) with lotion.  I put her lotion on after her bath and she continues to ask for more in her hands and then rubs her hands together repeatedly and puts the lotion on her legs and in her hair. She has the same words that Jack does, and she has just learned how to roar like a lion, and says aah ahh for a Monkey sound.

I will post a video this weekend--I will try to capture some of their antics!

Sunshine

Climbing into the water/sand table

Let me join you...

Busy playing in the sand

And now to the water...

first popsicle

What we have been up to..

Chocolate pudding.  This picture pretty much sums up the differences between the two.

Easter Egg Hunt

First trip to the zoo

Checking out the fish

Sea Otter

He often travels off the beaten path.  Always on the move too, so most pictures are of the back of his head.

Watching the zebra

Trying to ride on the statue of a tiger cub

Jack's favorite-the elephant

17 months

Jack and Madelynn are so much fun to be around these days.  They are both so smart and have such distinct personalities.  Madelynn is starting to become even more verbal and has started to try to repeat all of the words that we say.  Jack is a little star athlete in the making.  He runs, climbs and shows no fear.  He can throw a ball with pretty impressive accuracy and strength!  They climb all over the toys at the park and love to go down the slide.  Jack prefers to slide down on his stomach.  Every day they look more and more like little people and less like babies.  It is hard to believe how quickly time passes by.  Even though our life is organized chaos, as we like to refer to it, I can't imagine it any other way.  Easter pictures are on their way...

Spring!

Finger painting

He is a wild one...

Riding in boxes-so much fun!

They thought the doll would like to go for a ride too

Jack and his best friend, Chloe.

On a walk, sporting their new sunglasses.

In the slide at the park

In the sandbox

A proud parenting moment...they played together with no fighting for 15 minutes while Brad and I relaxed on the edge...unheard of!!!