Jack and Madelynn at 21 months

We love to be outside!  Jack chases Chloe around and throws the ball for her.  Madelynn likes to climb up on the ledge with her baby doll and walk the perimeter of the yard.  They splash and play in the kiddie pool, drink gulps of the water and Jack likes to crawl around the pool on his belly.  They love popsicles on a hot day and end up covered in sticky strawberry.  They love any kind of snack they can hold onto themselves and carry around--a slice of watermelon, an end of corn on the cob.  They love to put on their sunscreen and then peel off their clothes the second they get wet.  Madelynn especially prefers to walk around without any clothes on.  They point out their "boo boos" and give each other kiss after to kiss to make it all better.  They snatch toys from each other and fight like siblings but throw their whole heart and soul into the kisses and hugs they give each other. 

Their words right now are:
hot
cold, brrr
puppy
turtle
cow
duck
apple
cado (avacado)
juice
drink
ball
keys
Ti, mama, nana, dada
poopoo
peepee
kee (chloe)
booboo
knee
toe
bag
more
bye bye
car
ah ah (monkey)
arrrr (lion or tiger)
bee
back
shoe
coat
pants
Hi
carrot
nee (cheese)

I'm sure there are more...at their 18 mo appointment they both had about 3-5 words, it is amazing how quickly they are adding to this list!

Summer 2012 in Pictures

20 months

20 months old means that it is only 4 months to Jack and Madelynn's second birthday.  Where has the time gone?  I ask that all of the time, but nowadays when I see one of their baby pictures hanging in the hallway I just stop and wonder where the time has gone.  My house is now full of very active, loud toddlers!  There are no more babies here.  It is also amazing how quickly that time is forgotten...maybe it was because I spent most of the past 20 months severely sleep deprived but I am thankful for this blog and the many pictures I have taken to document these early years.  Speaking of pictures, I will post some soon, I promise!

Jack has been very busy lately.  His favorite activity right now is buckling things--he will spend his time buckling and unbuckling the strap on his booster chair, his carseat and the strap of the grocery cart.  He can also pull the chair out from the kitchen table, climb into it himself and if he pleases (and he does) he climbs onto the table chanting "no no no" and shaking his finger.  I think somebody has been telling him NOT to climb on the table and he appropriately directs himself and his sister if she trys to do the same (and she does).  He runs all over the place and the pitter patter of his feet is the sweetest sound I have every heard.  Every time our front door opens he exclaims "Ti!" (Auntie) and she is currently one of his favorite people.  He is always hoping for a visit from his auntie.  He chases Chloe all over the house and rolls all over her.  When daddy works in the garage Jack sits on the steps and watches him.  Sometimes he goes into the garage and tries to hand daddy his tools.  Jack is also very clean.  If he spots a speck of paper on the floor he brings it to me to throw away and he still loves to pick up all of his toys.  He takes a bucket, fills it up with toys and then dumps it into a larger bucket.  He has also figured out how to empty his toy bins and turn them over to use them as handy step stools to reach anything he wants to on the kitchen counters.  He is a tough kid to keep up with but he is so much fun and such a sweet little boy.

Madelynn is very theatrical.  She has a facial expression for everything.  She has a new scowl that she gives when she is not pleased or skeptical, she has a silly face that she makes by scrunching up her nose and she has her very interested, engrossed face that she uses when she reads a book on her own or in her parents laps.  Madelynn loves to read.  She will sit still through eight or ten books and after momma has read them, she takes the same books to daddy to read over again.  She is also very loving.  She picks up her stuffed animals or her baby dolls and holds them tight, giving them kisses and cuddles.  She loves to be wrapped up tightly in her tiger blanket (it can only be the tiger blanket and no one else is allowed to use this special blanket).  She follows her brother on all kinds of adventures and tries to keep track of him.  We will often hear her yelling from the other room "Jaaaaa," trying to keep tabs on him.  She loves to pick out her clothes and try to dress herself.  She also brings Jack his clothes when it is time to get dressed.  Madelynn has been showing a lot of interest lately in potty training so we have been working on just letting her sit on her little frog potty.  So far, she likes to sit and get up and sit.  She also thinks that she needs to take all of her clothes off when she is on the potty and she is constantly taking her diaper off and running around naked.  She also likes to unroll an entire roll of toilet paper in one sitting. 

That is our crazy, yet wonderful household as of lately.  We went to the zoo this past weekend and when I told them where we were going they both were yelling, "zoo!" over and over again until we got there.  It is so much fun to experience things through their eyes.  My next post will have some pictures! 

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