18 Months!

Wait, how did that happen? 18 months, really?? I don't know about you, but June just flew by for us! Wednesday was the boys' 18 month birthday and they had their check-up yesterday morning. We switched pediatricians (because we switched insurance) so this was our first visit to our new pediatrician office. We really liked them a lot though, we hardly had to wait, even once we got to the exam room (I didn't even have time to fill out the new patient forms), and the nurse and doctor took their time with each of the boys and asked lots of questions. They also gave me lots of helpful information to take home.

Jack weighs 23 pounds, 5 oz and is 31.5 inches tall. These put him in the 25th percentiles for both height and weight.

Cullen is 24 pounds, 6 oz and is 31.5 inches tall. He's in the 40th percentile for weight and the 25th percentile for height.

Here's what the boys are up to these days:

*They each have 4 molars coming in, on the top and bottom of both sides of their mouths. They hardly ever seem to be in pain from these anymore and they seem to already be helping them chew better.

*They still love to eat although every few days they'll just refuse meals for no reason. It seems to be whenever I feed them leftovers or the same thing twice in a row. I think they're just spoiled and are getting picky, always wanting new foods. The other day I made eggs and they scarfed them down, but then I made them again yesterday morning and they both just looked at them in disgust and started tossing them onto the floor.

*They're finally beginning to talk. They're just saying a few words right now (this, that, there, mama, dada) and they sometimes even try to copy other words we say. This morning I was putting on their shoes and saying the word and Cullen pointed to his feet and said "too." Since that doesn't sound like any other word in their current vocabulary, I'm assuming he was trying to repeat what I was saying. Cullen actually seems to be a better talker than Jack at this point. He tries to repeat words and when we say "Yes, good job!" he beams at us. He also likes to walk up to me and poke or hit me and say "Mom!" and then when I say "Yes, Cullen, what would you like?" he just flashes a smile and walks off. I think he's just really proud of himself and showing off :-)

*The doctor was just a little concerned about their lack of verbal skills. She told me they're still within the range of normal since they're at least saying a few words and that twins very often lag behind other kids in verbal skills. But she did recommend seeing a speech therapist if they're still not expanding their vocabulary by 21 months. But then she smiled and said, "Though, I have a feeling you'll see them just take off in the next few weeks here and have an explosion of new words." We're not worried as we've known they were a little slow in this area for a while now but we do hope they start talking more in the next couple months. We can't wait to talk with them!!

*They've started using their sign language pretty consistently. We've only stuck with a few basic signs this long because we were discouraged that they didn't seem to be getting it at all but now they sign for eat, all done, more, and sometimes sleep. Cullen actually only does eat consistently, but I'm not surprised that that's the only word he wants to sign. That's his favorite thing to do. Every time I go to the kitchen or the second they get up from their naps, or if he hears me say the words breakfast, lunch, dinner, food, cook or eat, he starts saying "ooh, ooh" and motioning for food. I'm thinking we should start teaching them a few new words and see if they pick up on those too.

*Both boys (especially Cullen) are super-attentive to sirens, truck engines, and airplanes. They can hear them miles away and point in the direction the sound is coming from. Then, when they don't see whatever is making the sound, they put their hands up and ask "huh?" I then explain that it's behind the trees or wherever and that sometimes we can only hear things and not see them. At first, they would just repeat the question over and over again wondering why they couldn't see the fire truck but now they seem satisfied with my answer. And they just LOVE airplanes! The other day we were walking home from the grocery store right next to a busy road. I could only hear the traffic sounds but Cullen somehow picked out the sound of an airplane and pointed up and started yelling "dat! dat!"

*They still don't like to sit down in the bathtub. Both of the boys stand and walk around the tub the entire time. I've started filling up the tub slowly and putting them in right away because they love to play with the water coming out of the faucet. They often push each other aside to get closer to the magic faucet and when I finally have to turn it off, they both turn and ask why or where the water went.

*They ask questions all the time! They put up their hands and say "huh?" Of course, every question sounds exactly the same so I never know what they're asking. Sometimes it's obvious, but usually I have no idea what they're asking about.

*They usually obey basic commands such as "no touching," "come here," "sit down," "pick that up/put it down," "bring me____," "go to the front door/your room/the bathroom," "be gentle." Not always, though, and sometimes they smirk as they disobey which tells me they know exactly what they're doing and are choosing not to listen. If they have something they know they're not supposed to have, I'll say "No, no, give that to Mommy." Then they'll narrow their eyes, frown at me, clutch their treasure tighter and run away with it as fast as they can. Sometimes they run into the bathroom and try to shut me out. I try really hard not to laugh at times like that, but they're just too stinking cute for their own good.

*Their favorite things to do are play outside, swim in the pool, throw balls incessantly at Mommy and Daddy, play peek-a-boo with each other, pet the kitties (and by "pet", I mean whack them on the back of course), chase the kitties, climb anything and everything, bounce on the couch, push anything with wheels, chase each other back and forth across the living room, read one page of a book and then fling it away, rip up paper or tissues into microscopic pieces, and push buttons that make noise. Cullen also loves to stack things and tear them down and Jack really enjoys hiding things. Not finding them, just hiding them.

*They don't sit still for more than 60 seconds at a time unless they're eating or riding in the car. They seem to be moving every second they're awake. They won't even sit on our laps for more than a minute before getting restless. This is why it's so difficult to read to them, we usually only make it through a page or two before they throw the book away and jump down.

*They're really good sleepers, probably because they're so active during the day. They sleep 11-12 hours at night and take a 1.5 - 2 hour nap every morning and afternoon. Whenever they wake up, they're ready to go again!